Owl Star News, the school’s news broadcast, has been around since last school year, and has graced students with important updates, fun skits, and even a newer sports section. Each broadcast takes an immense amount of work by dedicated staff members.
Director and creator of Owl Star News, McKenzie Davis-Patton, combined both of her hobbies and passions together last school year to create OSN.
“I started Owl Star News after joining newspaper and audio/video production last year,” Davis-Patton said. “I enjoyed making film content in class and in my free time, so I wanted to join both together and create a news channel for the school.”
Each episode of Owl Star News has taken a meticulous amount of time, effort, and work. Davis-Patton is the main face behind the production and editing, and even watching over the staff.
“I’m the director, so I do a bit of everything,” Davis-Patton said. “My main role is to oversee the staff and get everything done before our deadline.”
While each episode may take a lot of effort, the finished product and reactions of the audience make the hard work worth every minute.
“I really enjoy the creative process of making skits and editing new intros, it’s really rewarding seeing the finished product at the end of the week,” Davis-Patton said. “I also like watching the reactions of our audience watching the videos in class, it makes it all worth it [knowing] that people enjoy what we put out.”
Another important part of OSN is the hosts. They’re responsible for delivering the news during each episode. In addition to being able to deliver news, they also gain some recognition from their peers.
“[My favorite part of OSN is] probably the social aspect,” host Clara Campbell said. “I love hanging out with everyone and being able to say, ‘yes! I am the girl in the OSN video who was crocheting! Absolutely I can show you my project!’”
Another responsibility of the hosts is to write their part of the script, which can be difficult at times.
“My least favorite part of being on OSN is probably having to find things to write about,” Campbell said. “Sometimes the most accessible sources don’t have much on them, and you sort of have to go digging for stuff to write about.”
Another part of OSN is the new sports section, which was introduced this year. Senior David Mills is in charge of delivering the latest sports happenings.
“[My responsibility is] getting [the] latest news on anything sports in Joshua,” Mills said.
OSN has been going strong for a little over a year now. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. While each production is full of laughs and fun energy, it’s tiring and a lot of hard work for everyone involved. Owl Star News has officially come to an end after an agreement between all staff members.
“I loved having the opportunity to direct Owl Star News my junior and senior year, but I’m ready for this chapter to end so the next one can start,” Davis-Patton said. “Although I loved seeing Owl Star News progress and change throughout our different hosts, I’m excited to branch out and start my own personal projects. I won’t ever forget the lessons I’ve learned, so thank you to our viewers who were watching.”
