In the aftermath of the shooting tragedy that took 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD), the broadcast production program at the school began the process of recovering – by going back to work.
“What do I do? How do I try to live through this?” WMSD-TV advisor Eric Garner asked at a press conference at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive convention center.
For Garner and his team of broadcast journalism students, the answer was clear: tell their very own story. Entitled “#MSDStrong Documentary,” the video documents the events of February 14, memorializes the victims and extensively covers the activism-driven aftermath.
“This is what we do,” Garner said. “It’s what’s in your blood.”
Clocking in at 26 minutes, the documentary is the result of 10 days of work at MSD and collaboration with other broadcast teams. Garner and his students began conceptualizing the documentary immediately after the attack, but actual progress on “#MSDStrong Documentary” did not start until students returned to school on February 28.
“The ultimate priority was to honor the people who did not make it,” added Garner.
“This is what we do,” Garner said. “It’s what’s in your blood.”
The making of the documentary was marked by a strong dedication to produce a film detailing the whole truth, the way MSD faculty and students experienced it. Garner expressed repeatedly that “#MSDStrong Documentary” was an apolitical piece meant only to cover the event and honor the victims, and disagreed with accusations that the documentary perpetuated a leftist agenda.
“I don’t know that I agree with everything [March for our Lives] activists have been saying,” Garner said, referencing several MSD students that have led the movement to establish stricter gun control regulations, including Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and Delaney Tarr.
“One of the biggest mistakes we made is, of the people that we interviewed in the activism part, there are a couple of students on campus that we didn’t get that are more on the conservative side. If I was to go back and redo it, I would put those interviews in,” Garner added.
Outside of the third party reactions, however, the WMSD-TV students have said they’ve found solace in the making of the documentary.
MSD senior Chris Cahill served as one of the handful of the video’s producers, and said he felt it was therapeutic, if oftentimes difficult. MSD students from yearbook and newspaper, as well, found a home in working on memorializing the victims together.
“Being able to work on the documentary gave us something to do at school, especially in that first week where we just had half days,” Cahill said. “I spent all of my time there and we were working together and I was able to spend more time in that home… so that was therapeutic.”
The “#MSDStrong Documentary” has nearly 20,000 views on YouTube and has aired across some of Parkland’s local TV channels, including PBS. Garner and his students continue to emphasize that the video’s purpose is to inform and honor – not persuade.
“I think we did a good job telling a story no one else could,” Garner said.
