This first semester as News Director for Mustang Morning News (MMN) has been one of growing pains, but also hard work, and leadership.
From brainstorming stories and guiding teams through the creative process to writing scripts and ensuring everything met our high standards, I learned the importance of clear communication and teamwork as me and my partner Gordon dove into running a successful broadcast.
One surprising takeaway was how much impact intentional script guidance can have on a team’s growth. Pushing for stronger focus statements and encouraging my peers to refine their storytelling beyond just throwing their prompts into Chat Gpt is slowly paying off, as I saw our second and third shows improve significantly in quality. It also deepened my respect for how collaborative journalism truly is; every role, from scripting to social media, is essential to reaching and engaging our audience.
Through this process, I discovered my passion for leadership and the joy of mentoring others. I also developed a greater appreciation for social media’s role in modern journalism, working with our Social Media Producer Emma to craft effective teasers that drew viewers to our shows.
Next semester, I aim to focus on refining my storytelling techniques while continuing to foster the development of our team. I’m going to push through “Senioritis” and leave our team with a great foundation for the future. As this is just my personal reflection, I’d love to have you, the viewer, reach out as well. You can visit the contact page to do so (My email: [email protected]). Also, if you’d like to understand how we rationalize our coverage visit our MMN staff ethics policy.
Post Date: September 19 2024
Role: News Director / Anchor
This project was the first show of the year, a culmination of our team’s 3 week cycle. I brainstormed their stories, guided the teams through their work process, and verified which shows would be aired. I also wrote the script for the show and was one of the two anchors introducing the segments.
Post Date: October 17 2024
Role: News Director
For the second show of the year, I actively stressed growth for our team to improve upon the quality of our stories as we have an end goal of becoming a National Pacemaker Finalist. In my role for the show I once again guided the teams, took notes on their performance, dialed their focus statements, and wrote the script for the newscast, this time going behind the camera on the shooting day.
Post Date: September 17 2024
Role: News Director and Social Post CreatorHere is an example Social Posts I worked on to promote and remind our audience when and how to watch our shows. I collaborate with our Social Media Producer Emma to send out these teasers and also send the show information to the admin team.
