On Tuesday April 10^th, Bethel High School’s Journalism and BETV III classes took to the roads and traveled to Norwalk, CT for a tour of one of the branches of the News Channel 12 family. This field trip showed students first hand what is involved in professional broadcasting and reporting.

Students began their day at the channel listening to Mr. Feuerman, News director of Channel 12, discuss what a normal day in the office is like.

Journalism student, Lauren DeSimone (’12) says, “I didn’t realize how fast and busy a day at a News room would be. It made me admire the field even more. A schedule like that would keep me in check because sometimes I can get a little lazy.”

After the round table discussion, students were taken to the lower level of the building, where the studio and control room are located. Students entered the control room where they witnessed firsthand all the work that goes into making a news broadcast run smoothly.

“We got there before the show started and it was calm in the room,” says DeSimone. “The guys were explaining to us how things worked and everything. Then, when the show was within 10 seconds, chaos began. They were shouting things out and pushing random buttons. It was crazy.”

Next, students got to view the broadcast of a show from the other side. They were brought into the studio itself to watch Becky Surran peform the broadcast. “I give her a lot of credit. Reading off the teleprompter without seeing the script beforehand seemed flustering,” says DeSimone.

For the final stop of the trip, the students were taken back to the newsroom to talk to one of the producer/graphic designer, who discussed what exactly her job entails and how it fits into the newscast itself.

“The trip was a good look inside the news world. It showed me a lot and made me think about my future in the field,” says DeSimone “I really enjoyed it.”