Student Broadcasting Celebrated In Southold

SOUTHOLD, NY — Student television broadcasting will be celebrated Monday as 200 students, staff and guests from schools across Long Island gather at Southold High School for the inaugural Broadcast Awards for Senior High, or B.A.S.H.

The event will feature CNN national correspondent Miguel Marquez as the keynote speaker.

"The event, which takes the concept of student newspaper journalism to a new level by featuring daily or weekly broadcasts that are shown in schools throughout the region, will distribute awards for schools that submitted work," a release from the district said.

Judges of the submitted work include industry experts and Emmy Award winners such as Pei-Sze Cheng of WNBC New York and photojournalist Randee Daddona, along with Drew Scott of News 12 Long Island, and a local news video journalist.

New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Dr. Betty Rosa is also expected to be in attendance, along with 14 to 15 school districts and several local elected representatives, said Southold School Superintendent David Gamberg.

Breakout sessions will also be held.

A total of 13 schools submitted 38 videos that were judged, and another six schools will be sending teams of students and teachers to learn more about student broadcasting, Gamberg said.

Also on Monday, special lifetime achievement award will be presented to the students and staff at Great Neck South Middle School in recognition of their longstanding commitment to such programs, which began at their school 65 years ago; Great Neck South Middle Schoo is believed to have been the very first public school to offer a professional broadcasting program for students, circa 1952, Gamberg said.

“In a society that grapples with how to teach young people to be responsible digital citizens, navigating the news and entertainment landscape is an important challenge faced by schools and communities throughout the United States. This program helps to recognize and celebrate how students can learn this important civic responsibility, as well as recognize various skills involved in media, journalism and the broader field of communications,” Gamberg, Superintendent of Southold Schools, said.

B.A.S.H. is considered groundbreaking because there are no known gatherings to recognize this platform for student engagement; the event will follow a format similar to the Emmy Awards and will feature a red carpet, he said.

Teachers in Southold took the lead in organizing the event. “We hope that this will be the first of an annual tradition to highlight the importance of teaching high school students how to create and produce quality stories and reports using the television/media format,” Jason Wesnofske, technology teacher at Southold, said.

The event is sponsored by New York State Senator Ken LaValle’s; the Southold School PTA is partly sponsoring the luncheon portion of the event.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast, followed by welcoming remarks from Gamberg at 9 a.m., an address by the keynote speaker at 9:15 a.m., breakout sessions, lunch, and the awards ceremony from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Awards will be given in categories such as "Best Opening Segment," "Best Anchor Team," "Best Sports Package," "Most Entertaining Package," "Best School News Package," "Best Public Service Announcement," and "Best Broadcast."

Photo courtesy of Southold School District.