On Wednesday, January 29, members of Mr. Jones' WGRB News Club and students from Mrs. Nylen’s Journalism class visited Spectrum News in Syracuse.

Students left GRB in the morning and arrived at Spectrum around 9:15 a.m. They started with a tour of the whole building that included many different studios. News Director Ron Lombardo shared a great deal of information about what goes on in front of and behind the cameras.

Spectrum has many studios for all of their small news shows they have, including the weather forecast studio, the main studio, and even a side studio for small stories or breaking news.

While the tour was going on, GRB students got to see behind the scenes of all the studio work, and even got to see themselves on a screen a few times to get the chance to try out being a meteorologist or reporter.

At this point, students got to say a quick hello to Carson Metcalf, a GRB graduate who is now a meteorologist for Spectrum News.

After the tour, there was a question and answer session for students who had questions about jobs or about anything else that happens behind the scenes. Reporter Justin Bachman shared his journey to Spectrum and many details about what he loves about his job.

Then the students got to see Spectrum tape their 12:00 show. Students got the best view of the taping, right behind the main cameras. There, the students met Iris St. Meran, a head anchor for Spectrum. Metcalf also did his taping for the 12:00 show. Students found it pretty exciting to see someone from their very own high school who is now on TV.

"Our entire visit to Spectrum was great and we learned a lot, but seeing Carson was the highlight. Like so many teachers at GRB, I'm extremely happy for him and really proud," Mrs. Nylen said.

"We all owe a huge thank you to Mr. Jones for planning such a fun and informative trip," she added.

Shortly after all the tapings were complete, the group was moved into a different studio to watch the finished product of the taping for the 12:00 show.

Spectrum opened up the eyes of the group by explaining the different opportunities for students in the news world. There are so many jobs students can work up to in the news industry that are fascinating work. These include reporters, photographers, and graphic designers.

The students wrapped up the trip by asking some other questions and then heading out of Spectrum.

The students enjoyed lunch together at Golden Corral before arriving back at GRB after a great trip behind the scenes of stories in the community and around the world.

“The trip really opened my eyes up to careers I would be interested in within the media industry,” junior Michael Strong said.

Many students noted how kind everyone at Spectrum was to share their time and expertise and to open the building to GRB students.

Sophomore Ethan Frank said, “They showed us just about everything and were very open to questions. I don’t think there was a question they couldn’t answer.”

In all, students and staff really enjoyed the field trip and learned a great deal.