This school year, we have been working to expand our broadcast program. The Emery now has five podcast shows. Minutes of Lit is the podcast that I host with opinion editor Ridhima Kodali. We have done four episodes (one with guest host Emery EIC Maya Kogulan). I work with the drafting and recording processes as well as the editing of the podcast.
Podcasting
Broadcast reporting
Minutes of Lit is all about exploring literature. When designing this podcast idea, Ridhima and I wanted to bring a diverse range of media to the table. Even though we decided on making the first episode about a music album, the second episode is about the impact of South Asians in media. One of the biggest questions we had was honestly whether people would listen to our ideas. We ended up having a few listeners on the first episode which was a win in our books. I'm excited to see where this podcast goes even when I leave the program next year!
Huge shout out to Assistant Online editor Allison Mi for designing the podcast cover art. She truly brought out the podcast idea with the representations of different media.
This is the first episode of Minutes of Lit. To begin, Ridhima and I wanted to talk about a topic that we really knew and loved. So, obviously, we chose Shawn Mendes. Even though we just had a general outline, we sounded scripted at the beginning. As I was editing, I realized that there were multiple points of us talking over each other. Ridhima and I record the podcast over the phone so a goal I set for us is to keep everything clear for the listener with the next episodes.
Minutes of Lit
This is episode two of Minutes of Lit. This is the episode I filmed with Emery Editor-in-Chief Maya Kogulan as well as Ridhima. Maya, Ridhima and I are all South-Asian (Maya's family is from Sri Lanka, Ridhima's from India, while mine is from Pakistan) so the topic of South-Asian representation is really important to us. By this episode I felt confident with the editing process and felt that the pauses were less frequent or apparent.
I am also working to submit a podcast to NPR's podcast competition with Emery staffer KJ!
For Minutes of Lit we have a general outline of talking points. The buttons below contain the outlines for the first two episodes. We don't outline word by word because we want to have a light feel. We edit the podcast on iMovie and upload it to SoundCloud. We keep the podcast less than 25 minutes so that listeners don't get bored or feel like the podcast is too big of a time commitment.
Video broadcast
Video-based broadcast journalism is pretty minimal for The Emery. All of the videos we have created are more about humor than journalistic reporting. I decided to create a broadcast news show to set a precedent for our video reporting and inform the community regularly. My weekly show, The Emery Extract, covers important school and student news.
I honestly hadn't really thought about starting a broadcast show until attending the Broadcast session hosted by Joe Humphrey. Being able to see different examples of broadcast journalism really inspired me so a few days later I decided to shoot my own. The topic idea came to me a few hours before I started filming. I had been seeing a lot of people posting on Instagram about the executive orders and directives Biden had done on his first day in office. Through our photo subscription with TNS I am able to use really great photos. I made sure to cite everything at the end of the video.
The Emery Extract
Many Ann Arbor youth are politically active so I thought that posting content related to the Biden administration (at the time of filming, President Biden had been sworn in for two days). The Emery's Instagram account is the main platform for The Emery Extract. Most students probably wouldn't go to the website to watch a news-based video but they will if it's just on their Instagram scroll page. This video has over 400 views! Everything I did was on my phone as The Emery does not have any actual broadcast equipment.
(from the best of the best)
After I made the first Emery Extract, my adviser connected me to a few broadcast journalists to receive feedback from. I first reached out to Michael Kaufman, a broadcast journalism teacher and the host of local station LCPS-TV, and Jeremy Whiting, the general manager for Michigan State University's radio show The Impact. The feedback I received was so helpful and was the reason why I continued to make videos that improved.
Receiving feedback
​
After I reached out, Emily and I set up a time to Zoom call and discuss the first episode. The biggest takeaway I had was that I needed more energy and a way to connect with the audience. Emily explained that she would often imagine herself talking to a close friend during her videos to make herself seem more open to the audience. I think these ideas are portrayed within the next episode. Many of the tips she gave were somewhat small but ultimately made so much difference.
​
The Emery Extract has been a inspiration for other Emery staffers. Another staffer, Gabi, already wants to take over the segment next year.
When creating the second episode I kept all of the suggestions and feedback in mind. I was intentional with my filming so that I would know where cuts would be and I think that this video is much smoother. I had more energy and was more engaging than the first video. There is still room for improvement, but my efforts have inspired other staff members and informed the greater Huron community.
Attempt #2
This video was more school focused and looked at content that would be important to the entire Huron community.
I sat a little closer to the camera to create a better presence. I was also based towards the right side of the screen so that I could have bigger graphics.
I worked with Canva and the color correction settings on iMovie to create a professional and clean look.