CLEVELAND — WKYC Studios welcomed over 150 students from the Lebron James Family Foundation Thursday for their annual field trip.
The students learned what goes into putting newscasts together, including reading from a teleprompter on the anchor desk. They also toured the Akron-Canton mobile unit and learned about working in the field covering stories from photojournalist Carl Bachtel and multi-skilled journalist Brandon Simmons. They also learned the technical side of things, like how reporters go “live” at stories and what it takes to make that happen.
One of the big hits of the trip was learning how weather forecasts are put together from meteorologist Michael Estime. The kids even got to see how the green screen, or chromakey, is used in the studio during weather segments. They found it fascinating that if you wear green and stand in front of the green screen, you disappear!
Another stop on the tour was commercial production. Chris Mizell talked to the kids about what goes into shooting and putting commercials together.
The sixth graders also interacted with Hollie Strano and Alexa Lee and watched them as they taped the show, “It’s About You” with guests from the Great Lakes Science Center and the Akron Zoo, who brought a parrot to the studio.
LeBron James Family Foundation Students came to visit WKYC
Piada Italian Street food provided lunch and during that time, WKYC General Manager Micki Byrnes talked with the kids about considering broadcast careers and encouraged them to ask questions during their time here. Others from the station, including Jasmine Monroe, Will Ujek, Vince Fratiani and Stephanie Metzger explained their jobs during panel discussions.
WKYC Studios sent each student back to school with a drawstring backpack and book to take home. The J.M. Smucker company provided Uncrustable sandwiches for the bus ride back to Akron.