Cowboy Television (CTV), CCHS’s broadcast journalism program, has left for their annual national competition hosted by the Student Television Network (STN). The five-day conference will see over 3,000 students among the previously heavily-awarded Cowboys.
“STN is an exhilarating experience [as we are] not only competing against schools across the nation but… [are] able to make deeper bonds with classmates while winning awards,” senior competitor Brianna Franco said.
Facing schools from around the country, during the team competition CTV members will have to compete for eight hours and complete an eight-minute show. Then, there are individual competitions where members are allotted a certain amount of time (usually six hours) to create a movie trailer, a silent film, a news package and more.
Some of the other categories include Action Sports Editing, Anchor Team, Commentary
Commercial, Convention Recap, Live Interview, Multimedia Journalist and Music Video.
“STN is the Mecca of all things CTV,” senior competitor Jakob Wolk said. “It’s where high schools from around the county come to compete in TV production competitions. Every year CTV does amazing, and we’re nationally recognized. Beyond the TV production aspect, it’s an amazing trip where the whole CTV family bonds and gets closer.”
Last year the Cowboys brought home many awards and honors, including third place for the Crazy 8s Broadcast Morning Show, an honorable mention for the Community Feature Story category and an honorable mention and third place win for their Sports Feature story.
According to STN, “contests are carefully designed to review the fundamentals of broadcast journalism, film and media. Judged by professionals in the industry, each entry receives an evaluation on several specific criteria and a critique from the judges.”
The conference itself is sponsored by household names within the media circuit such as Sony, CNN and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the same organization behind the Emmy awards. Thus, STN is a great opportunity for all who wish to partake.
On Sunday night, the fruits of their labor will be revealed as awards are given.
Along with their sponsor Alfredo Pichardo, this year’s competitors include:
- Ashton Bosse
- Jakob Wolk
- Andrew Rothschild
- Jacob Mayer
- Brianna Franco
- Becca Smitherman
- Gabby Carbone
- Reese Abrahamoff
- Melissa Luque
- Alexa Pichardo
- Matthew Schwam
- Nicole Nelson
- Ethan Silverman
- Kayla Burge
- Jenna Knight
- Casey Chapter
Photo by Lariat Photography
