Lights. Camera. Action.

I Anchored a Student Television Show!!

By Gracie Campbell

19 April 2022

After a day of watching presentations, viewing research, and learning about study away at Furman’s annual Furman Engaged I had the joy of helping with FUNC’s taping. FUNC is the Furman University News Channel, a fully student run news show made for students by students. The value of having a student television is the students writing the show are producing something that is relevant to their audience and allows them to better connect with their audience. This show also allows students to get hands on experience in a news setting which they can take with them after college.

What did I do?

When I arrived at the set, I was informed that traditionally they would have put me on the second camera however their second camera was down for the night. I got the opportunity to watch them pivot with that news and still put on a great show. I then helped mic up our two anchors for the show and was asked to watch the camera and listen to them during the show. The photo to the left is my view from the control room. I was really enjoying myself in this setting and learned more about problem solving mic and camera issues.

After listening to our two anchors, we realized that it was not best for them to be filming together because they are best friends and were struggling to keep their composure around each other. This is when the producer Jada asked me to step in as an anchor. I had the best time getting to use the teleprompter and being on camera. I grew up doing theatre so this felt very natural to me, and I believe with practice I could become better at it. The picture to the left taken by Anna Morgan is me after anchoring the FUNC. I truly enjoyed myself and hope the episode turned out great!

The skills that I learned anchoring for the FUNC are invaluable to my future. Watching how quickly Jada and the rest of the FUNC team pivoted when behind the scenes things weren’t going as planned is a skill I hope to work on for my future. Being able to be on camera and reading from a teleprompter is critical for so many jobs in this digital age because I have had this experience, I feel much more confident being able to walk into that space with ease and a knowledge that I can take on this challenge!