Behind the Feed
Inside the Minds of the Schools' Social Media Program
By: Zoe Yost
The school’s social media news program has a new project this year called the Nest News. It’s about creativity, teamwork, and giving the students a chance to experience what it’s like to work in media. The team posts the Nest News, a weekly broadcast that keeps the DT school and community updated and entertained on Mondays.
According to senior social media student Payton Saylor, adding humor is what makes their content stand out.
“The comedy is really what gets the students going,” Saylor said.
Saylor enjoys the comedy parts because they are fun to make. He believes that making people laugh keeps them more interested in watching the weekly news. Saylor also mentioned how much he’s learned since joining.
“I learned how to use iMovie in more ways than I knew before,” said Saylor.
He, along with his classmates, has learned so many different ways to edit with different apps. These skills are important for the Social Media class to be able to edit and provide the Nest News. His experience shows how the program helps students grow their technical skills while still having fun.
The mix of fun and learning is what keeps the program going. It’s not just about being creative, but it’s also about learning to work together and manage time like a real production team. All eight of the students play an important role, and they all rely on each other to keep things running smoothly.
To provide students with as many opportunities as possible, each student gets to try all the jobs: sports reporter, desk reporter, editor, etc. Senior social media student Gracelyn Anderson Jones shared that one of the best aspects of being on the team is the opportunity to be creative.
“My favorite part about being on social media is putting my creativity into my poster and digital designs,” Anderson Jones said.
Anderson Jones discussed the importance of time management, as they often have projects to complete by deadlines. They post the Nest News every week on Monday, so they have to have all their interviews done, stories finalized, and media edited together by that deadline each week.
Behind all their creativity and hard work is Ms. Sydney Atkinson, who guides the class and helps turn their ideas into something real.
“The goal is to give students opportunities to build creativity, teamwork, and real-world experience all wrapped into one class,” Atkinson said. “Students have taken ownership of their roles and have done a great job of running the show.”
The group’s hard work has paid off, and they’ve developed an enthusiastic following among the DT students and staff, all of whom watch Nest News during MAP time each week.
“I really like watching the Nest News each week,” said sophomore LJ Martin. “It keeps me up-to-date on all the things going on, and it’s cool to see my friends featured.”