Air Times:     Friday 9:05, 10:00, 10:35
Station:          Channel 3, Madison School (closed circuit)
Website:         5livenews.com 

Our news show covers the happenings of Madison Elementary School. The show runs Live! each Friday morning at 9:05, or just after the morning pledge. We rebroadcast the show at 10:00 and at 10:35 for those classes that have scheduling conflicts with the live airing. The show plans to debut in November, giving time for selection and training of the new crew.

The cast and crew are made up of 5th graders from both classes. We are chosen after all 5th graders are introduced to the news during a tour of a local TV station's news department. Following the field trip, our crew looks at the positions available, and then we apply for our desired jobs. We are interviewed by the Producer and the Editor-in-Chief, who is hired first.

There are 29 students, more than half the 5th grade, currently working on the news staff to produce the weekly program. The curriculum ties are plentiful: grammar, paragraphing, main idea, details, pre-writing, interviewing, sequencing, reading fluency, and the list goes on. But the amount of higher order thinking skills used to create a show from scratch each week, to innovate new elements to the show, to troubleshoot problems as they arise, to evaluate one’s performance, and to lead others through the process adds up to an immeasurable opportunity for each 5th grader.

Our show started three years ago in the spring, airing six episodes. We originally called ourselves 'Mustang Action News.'  PTA kicked in some equipment so we could edit the videotape. We broadcasted straight from camera to VCR with the playing of the tapes overriding the camera. You could hear the switching of tapes during the stories, since each video story had to be on a separate tape, or cart, to be cued up ahead of time. The audience saw the on-screen VCR commands, but that wouldn't dampen the interest in the show.

The next year we introduced applying for the various jobs and making it run like a company. Students could be promoted, apply for multiple jobs, and also be laid off; a code of standards was set for being on the staff. More freedom to go about the campus was needed to cover events as they happened, and so citizenship began to play an important role in job selection. We began calling ourselves 5 Live! News. Still using VCR and tapes, production quality was lacking. And again, the production started after the New Year.

For last year, PTA kicked in again and allowed us to switch from VCR to DVD technology. Also, we began using a video switcher to switch inputs from camera to DVR, and we now can use a 2-camera setup. There is no need to switch tapes, so we can cue up the next video electronically with the DVR. Another innovation for last year's crew was the use a laptop to scroll the stories for the anchors, acting as a shoestring budget's version of a teleprompter. That was also the first year that the entire show was student produced. The editorial staff eats lunch together on Mondays to set up the show for the week, we film and interview throughout the week, and we stay after school on Thursdays to finish up, outline the order of the show, and perform a run-through.

This year’s first show is delayed due to the extended flu season. Our goals for this year are to enhance our set design, to boost the signal strength, and to go online showing podcasts of the show a week delayed. The online show will be edited slightly from the original show for privacy issues. The podcast can only be seen from the website.

All stories and videos are assigned, completed, edited, and produced by the students. All staff members make themselves available to the students and help us out, all classrooms watch the show on Fridays, and all students are glued to their seats enjoying the show.