By Cristina Cruz - Christopher Columbus HS
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Christopher Columbus High School's award winning CCNN Live team pose with local media professionals at their second annual Media Excellence Awards, a fundraising gala that took place March 14.
MIAMI | Where is the best high school broadcast journalism program in the country? The answer is at the all-boys Christopher Columbus High School in Miami’s Westchester neighborhood.
Their student-led TV station, CCNN Live, has won a multitude of awards over the past few years and the boys just returned from the Student Television Network’s National Convention in San Diego, Calif., with the top honor – “First Place in the Broadcast Journalism Crazy 8."
The accomplishment comes a few months after being been chosen “#1 Daily High School News Show in the U.S." by the National Scholastic Press Association.
The CCNN Live team competed at the STN convention the week of March 30th with approximately 3,000 students from close to 200 schools. On April 5, they were greeted at Miami International Airport by family and friends bearing celebratory balloons and banners. Subsequently, they appeared on several local South Florida News stations including a live interview on CBS4 news.
What makes the team so successful is greatly due to the strong work ethic and dedication that the team’s moderators have instilled in the students.
“They lead by example,” said David Pugh, school principal. “Christina Hidalgo and Omar Delgado have done a phenomenal job. They have a true passion for what they do and have grown CCNN into the finest program of its kind in our nation.”
CCNN students can be found with their cameras and microphones covering stories on campus from early in the morning before school starts to late in the day. The students are given an average of four packages per month and they go on air live with their 20 minute show every morning.
“They do it all to include research, writing, interviews, filming, editing, graphics, and production,” said Delgado, CCNN Live moderator. “They even sell and produce the advertising that goes into the show that helps fund our program.”
Moderator Hidalgo added: “At CCNN Live students gain the knowledge and experience of what it is like to produce a real news show. By the time a student graduates from our program, he is a practiced multi-media journalist.”
Many CCNN Live graduates have commented that their experience in high school gave them an advantage in college and have even said that the CCNN Live work was more challenging than their college level work.
What also makes the program unique and beneficial to the aspiring journalists is the abundance of “real-world” experiences that are presented to them. The team goes on an average of four field trips per year to visit local TV and radio stations and print publications like the Miami Herald.
Their annual Media Excellence Awards gives them the opportunity to meet their role models in the news media in person, and many of these journalists keep in touch with the program and offer advice. The program even has an advisory board made up media and business professionals.
Due to the success and growth of the program, the CCNN Live station will be undergoing a renovation and expansion this year. For more information visit columbushs.comand ccnnlive.com.
