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Studio One - 500 shows and counting
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hank you alumni and friends who celebrated our 500th show by attending in person or donating to our capital campaign. With your help, we raised $8,000 for equipment updates, building upgrades, and student scholarships. Your support allows today’s students to achieve the success you had as a Studio One intern. A lot of time and effort goes into each production, and the idea that students have done this 500 times is incredible. We look forward to the next 500! -Barry Brode, Director of Television
Tasha Olson and Nick Moen received the Studio One scholarship for spring and fall 2015, respectively. Tasha will finish her degree this fall and hopes to pursue a career in broadcast. Nick will graduate in spring 2016 with a degree in Communication.
A Story Worth Telling by Stephanie Flyger
R
estlessness can creep up in any career. Sometimes it comes from predictability in the 9 to 5. Sometimes it comes after years in the same job. But sometimes it comes as a subtle preparation for your next step. Nathan Shain was doing well at his Kansas City news station, 41 Action News-KSHB, when restlessness found him. Previously, he served as a news photographer at WDAY in Fargo, then in Springfield, Missouri. After a few years of building his portfolio, the UND and Studio One alum made his way to KSHB, which is ranked 31 of 210 in the Nielsen market. There he was able to expand his skillset by working as a multi-media journalist, oneman-banding several news stories and perfecting his craft. However, Shain knew deep down he wanted to tell a different story than a 1:15 package to run on the 6 and 10. “I was feeling a little restless in my job. I was looking for something different to do. I’ve always wanted to produce a documentary and was looking for an opportunity to tell a larger story,” Shain says of his days in Kansas City. During this same time, South Sudan was becoming an independent country, splitting from Sudan where there had been decades of fighting and, in some cases, genocide. KSHB was covering stories on the South Sudanese population in Kansas City, and Shain met a man whose mission was to build a school in his home village in South Sudan. After meeting with him a few times, Shain decided he would go with him. He wanted to shoot a documentary about the building of the school in this brand new country. “It was the craziest adventure I’ve ever been on,” Shain recalls of his expedition. “I had never been out of the country before and South Sudan is diving into the deepest of the deep ends. I was very naïve and in over my head. But it was an amazing experience looking back on it.” While he never produced a full documentary, he did shoot three longer news packages that ran on KSHB. Almost ten minutes of air time over three nights in a top 40 market is a proud accomplishment for anyone in the business. This brief international stint would end up being his first step out of restlessness and into his next professional endeavor.
World Vision Later, while attending a news training session, Shain met a woman who used to work at World Vision. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. She shared her experience of travelling the globe and telling stories on behalf of children, families, and communities. Once again, this type of work resonated with Shain. He showed her his work in Africa and asked for some feedback. A few months later, Shain got a call from that woman. She heard about a job opening at World Vision Headquarters and thought of Shain right away. He interviewed, accepted the job, and moved out to Seattle with his wife. As a video producer for World Vision, Shain has traveled to Ethiopia (twice), South Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, Zambia (twice), Kenya, Guatemala, Peru, Dominican Republic, Armenia, and Lebanon – all in the last three years. He’ll usually edit about 5-6 videos from each trip, each one with its own purpose. His main duty is storytelling; sharing what World Vision is doing in other countries and telling the untold stories of people they’re helping.
Syrian Refguee Crisis In March 2015, Shain traveled to Lebanon for a trip that’s been unlike any other. “One evening we were very close to the mountains that border Syria and Lebanon, and we could hear a steady stream of bombing on the Syrian side. One of the local communicators who was there helping us looked on his phone and it was only a 13 minute car ride away.” The Syrian civil war just entered into its fifth year, and the humanitarian crisis it caused has only gotten worse. Shain says the conflict in Syria has no real end in sight, causing millions of refugees to be stuck in countries not their own. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), since 2011, nine million people from Syria have fled their homes. Of those, 3.7 million are scattered across Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey (Syria’s immediate neighbors). There is little aid, and most of the people are jobless and homeless. The refugees seek shelter in tents and abandoned buildings. A large number of the children are not in school, and haven’t been for as long as five years. “It was really very sad to see that people who have fled such a scene of nightmare and violence were now stuck in an existence of poverty. I consider myself pretty informed about what is happening in the world, and I wasn’t prepared for everything I saw.”
Shain says World Vision is trying to provide people with their basic needs, like water and sanitation. In Lebanon, groups of people are renting land from local farmers. They form tent communities in the middle of fields. There is no source of water, nowhere for waste to go. World Vision has built water storage tanks as well as latrines that provide
clean water and the removal of human waste. They’ve also created ‘Child Friendly Spaces’ where kids can go to just be kids. They learn, play, and hopefully, heal. For many of the kids Shain talked to, it’s the only kind of school experience they get. He said it was tough to hear children talk about their flight out of Syria, bombs dropping, and seeing people killed. Shain hopes his storytelling can shed some light on this dark time in history for the people of Syria, and inspire more aid to come in. Being able to communicate the magnitude of what’s happening—through video and on social media —raises awareness of how people can join the relief. “It’s been five years and very little of the world has been focused on the people of Syria. And also, how beautiful and gracious the people of Syria are. Families that didn’t know where their next meal was coming from wouldn’t hesitate to offer us what little bit of coffee or tea they had. It was very humbling.” Shain’s trip to Lebanon might have been one of his tougher assignments and worlds away from the Kansas City news station; a complicated war, millions affected, and minimal solutions. But his job allows him to tell the stories that the world might otherwise turn a blind eye to. He hopes his videos can shed some light on this dark time in history for the people of Syria, and encourage more aid to be sent to the country. When restlessness crept up in Shain’s career, it led him to tell a larger story that does more than inform— it inspires; it spurs action. Shain first discovered his desire to tell stories as an intern with Studio One. He was a camera operator, news reporter, sports reporter, and sports anchor. He graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2006. To see some of Nathan’s videos of Lebanon and to give financially to World Vision’s efforts in Syria, visit studio1.UND.edu.
Midwest Journalism Conference by Haley Steinwand
This year, 11 Studio One interns made the trip to Bloomington, Minnesota for the Midwest Journalism Conference. At the conference, students were able to attend different workshop sessions and network with potential employers. Just like every year, many interns were nominated for awards. Averi Haugesag was a finalist for talent in the NATAS Midwest Regional Student Production Awards. Her piece was an anchoring/interview segment from last season called “Young Politicians,” with John Mitzel and Shelby Wood. Tasha Olson took home the Midwest Broadcast Journalism Association’s Eric Sevareid award for her story on the full service gas station in Grand Forks called Bob’s Oil. Marty Mueller was a finalist for both the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Award and the NATAS Midwest Regional Student Production Award. Not only did the interns attend the conference, but they got the chance to go on tours at Target Field/Minnesota Twins, Periscope ad agency, SPS Commerce, WCCO-TV, and EVINE Live. Marty Mueller said that the place he enjoyed visiting the most was Target Field. “I’m a huge sports fan so getting to see behind the scenes at a major ballpark like that was awesome.” Tasha Olson enjoyed the broadcast side of the tours. “My favorite place to visit was WCCO, hands down! It was so cool to see the station I grew up watching, behind the scenes. We also got to watch Frank and Amelia anchor live TV! They were so friendly and down to earth.” The interns also got the opportunity to have an alumni dinner with previous Studio One interns at the restaurant Pinstripes. “My favorite part of the whole trip was constantly seeing how all of the alumni of Studio One were still connected. It was so cool just to sit back and see current interns talking with interns that graduated 5-10 years ago! It made me excited to see where this batch of interns
will be in a number of years,” Tasha Olson said. Marty Muller also thoroughly enjoyed the alumni dinner. He said that it was such a great opportunity to meet former interns, connect with them, and bond with current interns outside of the studio. Every year, many interns at Studio One take advantage of all the opportunities that the Midwest Journalism Conference has to offer. They proudly represent the University of North Dakota. Interns are already looking forward to next year and everything that weekend has to offer.
Below is a complete list of regional awards: Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association’s Eric Sevareid Awards
Tasha Olson Studio One
Soft Feature Weather
Award of Merit Award of Merit
Bob’s Oil Studio One Weathercast
Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards
Marty Mueller Studio One
Feature Reporting Newscast
Finalist Finalist
Family Farm Fun Studio One
Upper Midwest Regional Student Production Awards
Marty Mueller
Serious News
Nominee
Public Wi-Fi Dangers
Averi Haugesag Talent
Nominee
Young Politicians in North Dakota
Studio One
Nominee
Studio One
Newscast