West Virginia University issued the following news release:
West Virginia University students working for the campus radio station can benefit from a new partnership with a professional broadcast network.
Under a cooperative agreement, student news reporters at WWVU-FM (U92) will receive advice and technical support for developing news stories from West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Morgantown bureau chief, Emily Corio.
Corio will mentor student reporters as they identify news stories, interview subjects, write for radio and edit their reports. Students will receive technical advice on microphone placement, quote attribution, utilizing background audio and operating station equipment and editing software. Through the arrangement, students will also able to visit the West Virginia Public Broadcasting studio in Morgantown to witness the behind-the-scenes operations.
'There are many skills that news reporters need to develop in order to create creative and informative radio packages,' said Kim Harrison, station director. 'The opportunity to work with a bureau reporter from a major news organization and receive personal recommendations and advice while developing stories is an incredible opportunity for the students.'
'The students are great,' Corio said. 'They're engaged in their school and in the community. They're eager to tell stories that matter to their listeners, and this partnership is a great way to help them develop the skills they need to tell those stories.'
In return for providing valuable resources for the students, West Virginia Public Broadcasting has the option of using the final news packages on their statewide network - an arrangement that provides additional benefits for the students as they build their audition tape and resume.
A result of this incentive has been a new approach to what is newsworthy. Student reporters try to write on a larger scale by thinking about the regional or statewide implications of a story.
Early each week, Corio meets with staffers to help them prioritize the news, review story ideas and identify the approach for developing each package. Then later in the week, she provides one-on-one time with reporters, allowing them to preview their story with her and receive critical feedback on the writing and editing.
The results of the program have been immediate, said Harrison, who's seen an increase in the number and quality of stories coming from the staff.
For Corio, the true benefit of the program is that the skills being taught today will help shape the future generation of reporters.
'It's great to work with students interested in learning how to produce for radio, but by producing these audio stories, they are also learning a skill that can be applied to the Web,' she said. 'Young reporters have to understand multimedia reporting and the skills they are developing will aid them in radio journalism or multimedia reporting.'
WWVU-FM is a student-run radio station providing music, news and sports. Located at 91.7 FM and broadcasting at 2600 watts of power, the station has been on the air since 1982. More on the Web: http://u92.wvu.edu/Contact: Andrew Lohmann, 304/293-5507.
Andrew Lohmann, 304/293-5507.
