By Danny Kramer —School Sports Editor

Eagle News was in the midst of becoming a more prominent part of school news during the 2019-2020 school year, but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Eagle News was forced to take a one-year hiatus. 

Now, the students and the Media Production teacher, Mr. James Acone, are returning to the classroom, and Eagle News is trying to pick up where it left off.

Acone says that Eagle News allows students the opportunity to participate in a variety of jobs which allows students involved in Eagle News’ production to find their talents and interests. “Some people are more into filming and getting creative in that regard, others are more into pursuing a broadcast or journalism career, so I hope to let student interests dictate what they [the students] focus on,” said Acone. 

Senior Media Production student Elliot Danto says that students involved in Eagle News praise the ability to express their creativity, whether Eagle News is a part of the school curriculum or an extracurricular. “Eagle News is one of those ways I can express my creative side, through video and the moving image, it’s really an art,” said Danto.

Senior Media Production student, David Hirschorn adds, “You can be extremely creative with what you are working on, and you can elaborate all your ideas into whatever project or report you are doing.”

Hirschorn says students are excited to be able to share their creativity, and one way to share is by including their videos as features on Eagle News. “I’m excited to share the projects that we work on within class and have those be on Eagle News so that the whole school can see them,” said Hirschorn.

Acone says that students do not always have the available schedule time in order to get involved, so there is also an Eagle News club for students that still want to do live broadcast and journalism. “I am looking to fill all types of roles—on-air talents, people that are more tech-oriented, people to operate cameras, people who want to do freelance packages—the sky’s the limit,” said Acone.

Danto says there are big plans for Eagle News to get back to a live broadcast. “We are hopeful that in the future, coming soon, we may have cameras that allow us to go live during school, so we would not pre-record everything we would be doing it while you see it and I just think that adds a whole nother level,” said Danto.

“It (a live broadcast) would be new for this iteration of Eagle News and I think super exciting for students to be involved in it and also just watching a live broadcast feels different,” added 

Acone.

Acone says that coming off a pandemic made it difficult for people to connect. “Eagle News is a way to encourage connection. It’s been harder for some people to make connections, everybody’s a little bit more isolated, and I think telling those [school] stories is really important in fostering a sense of community and helping faculty and staff feel connected to each other in a time where it feels a little bit isolating,” said Acone.

Looking for Eagle News? See all episodes at https://sharoneaglesmedia.wordpress.com.