APT looking for student reporters, deadline 9/30

CALL FOR STUDENT ON-CAMERA REPORTERS

Alabama Public Television (APT), Alabama’s PBS station is seeking applicants for student field reporters for year two of its series,Project C: Lessons from the American Civil Rights Movement. This series will be webcast during the 2014-15 school year. Project Cstudent reporters will conduct interviews that will help answer the question, “What are the enduring lessons from the American Civil Rights Movement and why are they still important today?”

In the coming months student reporters will interview scholars, activists, journalists and historians while visiting many of the historic civil rights sites in Alabama and beyond. The student field reporter is an important role, as our reporters will represent students all across America.

Selected student reporters will participate in on-camera interviews, stand-ups and pre-taped narration. Applicants may wish to view the archives of last year’s Project C series to view student field reporters in action. To view the archives, register with your email address and click on the “Watch” tab.

Candidates must be articulate, energetic, and engaging on camera with the ability to take direction from the producer/director. Some experience on-air or on stage is helpful, but not required. Applicants must appear to be in the sixteen to eighteen age-range. Small stipends and mileage reimbursement expenses will be paid to those who are selected for this position.

The field reporter position does not require a large time commitment, however student reporters may need to be available during and after-school hours as well as during some weekends from September 2014 through March 2015 (exact dates are TBA). The activities that the field reporters will undertake will be independent from school, however the work will provide complementary learning in the content areas of history, journalism, videography, creative writing and English. It will be the student’s responsibility to secure permission from school administrators if absence from school is needed. APT will assist the student in providing documentation of the work related to the field reporter position if needed.

How to apply:

1. Students should create and submit an audition video using one of the two sample scripts below.

2. Applicants should send a link to the video by email to iqnetwork@aptv.org. A short bio and indication of parent approval should accompany the video and contact information should be provided. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2014. Only emailed videos will be accepted.

3. It is important to note that a limited number of positions are available. Applicants will be notified of their selection via email by no later than October 7, 2014.

SAMPLE SCRIPT 1

President Washington laid the cornerstone of the United State’s Capitol building over 200 years ago on September 18, 1793. The Capitol building’s history reflects the history of America: as the country has grown so has the Capitol. Today the Capitol Building is a widely recognized icon of the American Democracy. The Building is actively used by our government's Legislative Branch, is the backdrop for our Presidential inaugurations, and is a public museum of American art and history. Although the Capitol has a long rich history—its story still being written—the narrative of the Capitol can be simplified into five major categories: built, burnt, rebuilt, expanded, and restored.

SAMPLE SCRIPT 2

In the last episode of Project C, my friends and I started a journey to challenge ourselves to learn from history, to engage in civic issues and to strive for a better tomorrow. We began by exploring a time and place in the narrative of the American civil rights movement. Birmingham, Alabama. 1963. A time when Birmingham was on the forefront of the movement. The year of Project C and the Birmingham Campaign, the Children’s March and the Sixteenth St Baptist Church bombing. The year that the people of Birmingham led the charge towards equality. Now my friends and I invite you to continue on this journey with us, as we challenge ourselves to apply the lessons from the past to the issues of today. It was no coincidence that the struggle for equality exploded in Birmingham when it did. The fire was already sparked when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at the request of local activist and leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. Shuttlesworth, along with activists and local college students, had already employed several civil disobedience tactics—such as sit-ins, protests and boycotts—in an effort to end segregation in the city.