Student News Show Richard Cook Peeples Middle School Jackson, MS More information can be found at rcook.info

Student News Show Putting together a News Show with the students is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. But in the end, it is worth it. The students love to see themselves on TV. Many of them will work hard, some will do enough to get by, but the final product is a lot of fun. (By the way, do invest in a lot of aspirin. You’ll need it.)

Student News Show The following slides will give you some information to begin a news show. There is also an episode of our “Buzz Report” for you to view as a great example.

Student News Show Countdowns Opening countdowns and other clips can be found on the Internet, many for free.

Student News Show Backgrounds Background images can also be found. You can use any type of picture, gif, jpeg, animated, PowerPoint, etc.

Student News Show Titles Titles can be generated in your video editing software or with a graphic program (Windows Paint, Photoshop, Fireworks) and saved as a gif or jpeg and imported. These opening graphics were generated with Sony Vegas.

Student News Show Music So that you don’t have to worry about possible lawsuits, you can create your own music with many different programs such as Sony Acid. Example created by me

Student News Show Music You can also find royalty free music at sites like The only restriction for education is that you have to let them know how you are using it.

Student News Show What to show A school news broadcast should, of course, have information about your school. –Upcoming events –Announcements –Birthdays –Sports –Recognitions –Lunch menu –Student Talent –Student Spotlight –Just students

Student News Show What to Show But it can have a lot more. –Quote of the day (or week) –Word of the day (or week) –Joke of the day (or week) –Trivia –Weather –Bizarre Holidays –Strange Laws –Strange But True Facts

Student News Show Backgrounds You can add backgrounds one of two ways. –Design and paint one on a drop cloth and hang it behind the newscasters –Use a green screen and chroma-key

Student News Show Chromakey To do chroma-key you will need a green or blue screen. This can be bought from many photo stores or a great place to find one inexpensively is on Ebay.

Student News Show We use Sony Vegas to do our news show. It has a choma-keyer built in. It is not difficult to use. Check your software manual to see if it does chromakey.

Chroma Key This picture is before the chromakey effect is added This is the same picture with the chromakey effect

Student News Show Transitions Many programs come with great transitions. Professionally, you might not like to use a lot of these, but for a school news show, the kids like them so go ahead and have fun with transitions.

Student News Show Teleprompter If you can’t afford to purchase a teleprompter, you can use a computer screen and PowerPoint. Make your text large enough to be seen and have another student advance the screens as needed.

Student News Show Equipment Basic equipment needed for digital editing –Digital camera –Editing software –Firewire cable –Microphone –Students

Student News Show Software examples –Video Editing Windows –Windows Movie Maker (free with Windows) –Sony Vegas –Ulead Videostudio –Pinnacle Studio Apple/Mac –IMovie –Final Cut –Music Windows – Sony Acid Apple – Garage Band

Student News Show This is an example of our weekly Buzz Report. It is shown on Friday’s from about 10:30 until 1:00 so that all classes have an opportunity to view it. If you would like to watch some of our other shows, goto and click on the Buzz Page.

Student News Show Please visit for a list of links to sites that you can use for your news show. If you have any suggestions for additional sites or information, please them to me at I’ll give credit and a link back for any suggestions.

Student News Show If you are looking for a place to host your news show on the web, consider This site was designed for student projects and school related videos. The content and advertising is monitored to ensure a kid safe site.

Student News Show If you have any questions, please contact me at or call me at You can also find information about news shows, animations and more at Start over