NC Scholastic Media Institute Returns with New Developments
By Kaitlyn Meehan, East Mecklenburg High School ’22
It is a New Day at the NC Scholastic Media Association Summer Institute after two years of online camp.
The changes made in the time since 2019, the last time students gathered in person, include: several new schools attending the institute, construction of a new broadcast studio, known as the Curtis Media Center and a shorter Summer Institute.
New Schools Attending Institute
With a handful of high schools choosing not to attend due to COVID-19, the in-person institute has plenty of space for new faces. Among the schools bringing campers for the first time are: Watauga High, West Johnston High, North Buncombe High and Rocky Mount High.
When asked how they heard of the opportunity to attend NCSMI, advisers from two of the new schools said they received mailers sent to their school’s media program. One said they heard about it from colleagues, and one was intentionally seeking out summer enrichment opportunities for their students.
“We are new to journalism, and we want to connect,” said Jenny Zimmerman, Hilltopper yearbook adviser for North Buncombe High School. “We don’t have many programs in our district, and so we wanted to learn from others, get feedback from critiques and make connections with other schools.”
As far as first impressions go, all four advisers interviewed said they were impressed with the expertise offered to both themselves and their students.
“The Summer Institute is definitely providing opportunities outside of the box for our future journalists,” said Shirley Kelley, adviser for West Johnston High’s yearbook, The Prowler.
New Curtis Media Center
UNC unveiled the newest addition to the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, the Curtis Media Center, in April. The first students to use it, however, were the high school journalists attending the Summer Institute. Named after Don Curtis, a former member of UNC’s Board of Trustees, donor and founder of Curtis Media Group, the center is equipped with a state-of-the-art broadcasting studio.
“We have emulated, in this studio, exactly what you would see if you were to go into a top market anywhere in the United States.” broadcast engineer and NCSMI instructor Gary Kirk said.
The technology available in the studio is complete with all modern technology students will need to know when entering the broadcast journalism workforce, Kirk said. The equipment used in the previous media center was up to date 15 years ago, according to Kirk. The new advancements allow students to stay up to date with current tools in the field.
“Current events are really important, and broadcast is how you get current events out really fast, and I didn’t realize how complicated it was before I started, especially now that I’m seeing a newsroom” said Kaci Piggot, Richlands High ’24, following her first time working in the Curtis Media Center.
Shortened Time at the Institute
Following a two-year hiatus from meeting face-to-face, NCSMI returned to in-person instruction with something of a “trial run” of the Institute. To be more COVID-19 safe, the Institute is functioning with approximately half the size of previous years and one fewer day. Less time around fewer students from across the state will hopefully lessen the chance of transmission, NCSMA director Monica Hill said.
Moving from four to three days, students are receiving relatively the same amount of instructional hours as well as the same amenities as in previous years. The Institute is complete with a press conference, campus tours and guest speakers. Many events take less time than previously.
“…When we looked at the possibility of the instruction, we found that we were able to get so many hours of instruction and pack them into the three days that it just made a lot of sense.” Hill said.