I’m adviser Matthew Browning, and this is my newsroom

What is your name? Matthew Browning

What school do you teach at? Rose Hill High School

What city and state is your school located in?
Rose Hill, Kansas

What different media are produced at the school?
Broadcast, podcasts and print (rocketproductions.net)

How many students are involved at the media program at your school?
35

Describe your space for us.
We have two separate spaces that we use regularly. First is our newsroom where we edit all video and print. We currently have six desktop computers that our reporters use to edit video on Final Cut Pro. We have one computer designated for editing and laying out our news magazine. The newsroom also is where we have staff meetings and stores our cameras. Our studio houses two broadcast shows, both of which air weekly. We are also able to stream our shows live on YouTube through OBS software. Our control room currently is small, but will increase in size next year thanks to some much-needed renovations through a bond issue.

What do you think are some of the benefits of the workspace you all have?
Our space allows the students to adequately and creatively apply the principles and concepts of journalism into project-based learning.

What do your students like most about the workspace you have?
There is no doubt the students love the broadcast studio the most, because of the “real world” feel to it. We have updated our lighting and set to make it professional.

What computer programs and/or apps is your staff using on a regular basis for their work?
For print layout, we use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop and for broadcast, we use Final Cut Pro for video and Zoom for podcasts.

What tech equipment are your students using on a daily basis?
We use Sony Camcorders on a daily basis and our Apple desktops.

Aside from the computers and the programs, what are one or two pieces of equipment that you have that you think other programs should have.
We were able to purchase this year a brand new audio mixer that allows our sound quality to be excellent. We also were able to get all new lighting to our studio, which is now all LED lights, through a Perkins grant.

How is your workspace funded?
Everything we have purchased has been either by our media account in the district or the Perkins grant.

Do you have anything on your wishlist for your space? If so, what do you have and why?
The only thing that truly brings our space down is the school itself has not been renovated since being built in 1995. But that is going to change next summer when the bond issue that was passed will give the whole building new floors and ceiling renovations.

(This is one of a series of posts where high school newsrooms are showcased. We’d love to showcase your newsroom on the site. To find out how, check out the information here and submit yours today.)

Aaron Manfull

Aaron is in his 26th year of advising student media. He is currently the Director of Student Media at Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, Missouri. He is the Journalism Education Association Digital Media Chair and co-Director of Media Now. He is the 2023 JEA Teacher Inspiration Award Winner and is a former Dow Jones News Fund National Journalism Teacher of the Year. He is one of the authors of the textbook "Student Journalism and Media Literacy." You can find him on X and Instagram @manfull. He's a proud father. A transplanted Iowan. And an avid Hawkeye Fan.

Aaron Manfull has 864 posts and counting. See all posts by Aaron Manfull

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