My City September 2021

MYCOMMUNITY

T he station started in 2000 as an in-school, Davison newscast. “I joined the program in 2002 when it was just starting to branch out,” says Scott. “I really credit the school system for hiring actual television people like me. It helped shape the entire station into a profes sional model.”Next, the station moved into live broadcasts of sporting events, school concerts and local events.The station then added PSAs and documen taries (dubbed “specials”). “We cover concerts, football, volleyball, basketball, whatever we can,” adds Scott. “The kids

DAVISON STUDENTS HANDLE ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM.

We turned this into our ‘Confronting COVID’ special.” Past DTV specials include: “Undrinkable: The Flint Water Emergency,” “In the Line of Fire: Gun Violence in America,” “In News We Trust,” and “Great Lakes: On the Brink.” The specials are available at dtvnews.org and the DTV channel on YouTube. “We want to tackle real world problems that matter to all of us,” states Scott. One of the biggest challenges for Scott and Lesko is staying up-to-date with today’s news climate and access. “Everything is so much different from when I started,” Scott explains. “Social media is absolutely huge and nowadays, anyone can ‘go live’ with just their phone. It used to be special to be on televi sion.”Another difficulty is overcoming the stigma that some have placed on news organizations and journalists. “It is a difficult task to get our students to

PROGRAM CO-MANAGER RANDY SCOTT GUIDES HIS TEAM.

are our camera operators, announcers, play-by-play analysts and sideline re porters. Some colleges don’t get this type of on-hand learning and access. Davison alumni are working in broadcasting and media jobs all over the country.” Each year, DTV begins a week before school starts with the annual bootcamp, when new students learn the basics of camera operation, equipment

use and production. “It’s basically our football camp,” says Scott with a laugh. At bootcamp, the majority of the year gets plotted out and ideas for specials get submitted and voted on. “The ideas come from all of us,” explains Scott. “We want our students to think and submit their ideas for the year. Last year, with the pandemic, we all kept a daily blog to document each day as it happened.

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