I volunteered at our campus’
television station UMTV during two of their Maryland Newsline live newscasts.
The decision to choose this for my media presentation project was an easy one;
I was planning on volunteering there anyway! In high school we had our own
little news program that I was involved with so I was looking forward to being
a part of something even better in college. UMTV was one of the deciding
factors in choosing Maryland; their newsroom, compared to the other
universities I was looking at, truly impressed me.
Before volunteering, everyone was
required to go to a training session to get acquainted with the equipment and
jobs that needed to be done. Since I am in freshmen connection, and the
newscast runs during class time, it was very difficult to volunteer and I had
to satisfy just the minimum requirement for the project.
The first time I went to UMTV I was
an observer. I watched the camera operators and the floor director mostly, just
trying to warm up to everything and understand how the show ran. All of the
students there are incredible people and there was an overwhelming happy vibe
in the studio at all times. They had a million things to worry about but kept
making sure I understood everything that was going on and were very patient and
kind to all of the volunteers. I was able to run camera three for the live show
at my last visit to the studio. I was all hooked up to the director and had my
run down in front of me and the show went smoothly. It is without a doubt a
stressful area but everyone handles it very well, overcoming mistakes and technical
difficulties with ease.
I’m in love with broadcast
journalism and UMTV did noting but affirm my goal of becoming apart of that
world. There, students are able to get hands-on experience in a live setting
and are given a lot of responsibility. The enthusiasm at Maryland Newsline is
inspiring to me; I was so pleasantly surprised by their kindness and passion.
These are good people willing to be there for anyone that wants to help the
show run just a little bit smoother. I recommend anyone interested in broadcasting
to volunteer there; I know I’ll be a regular next semester.
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