The camera is rolling, the teleprompter is moving, and senior Brianna George basks in the glow of the ABC2 News studio lights. This may sound like a dream, but for George it is a dream come true thanks to the ABC2 News Teen Media Project.

Along with George, fellow senior and Patriot staff member Lauren Fabiszak has been pursuing her love of journalism through this project. The Teen Media Project allows high school students from different schools in the state to participate in a  broadcast journalism experience.

The process of being chosen for the program included recommendations, journalism entries from the students, and an interview. On their first day on the job, the students were given a tour of the studio and learned how to work the studio programs, even getting to speak with professionals like Donna Knutson, a producer for ABC2 News.

“I didn’t know what to expect, I was nervous and excited,” George said.

These teens spend the first two Saturdays of every month in the ABC 2 studio, preparing and filming current news material. Then they film it on the third week of the month on a Sunday. Their segment is broadcast on the fourth Saturday of every month and can be found online. (Link: http://www.abc2news.com/subindex/about_us/teen_media.)

While George credits her newfound comfort in front of the camera to her pageant experience, Fabizak was a bit more apprehensive about her first experience in front of the camera.

“I wanted to get it over with. I definitely didn’t want to mess up. You are in a room where everyone is staring just at you, the pressure is on,” Fabiszak said.

Fortunately, the girls will have plenty of time to get used to the spotlight. “I still get nervous, but every time I do it, I get better,” said Fabiszak. They also have had access to many professional tools that will give them the upper hand as they both plan on pursuing careers in the journalism field.

“We get to work with the people who work on the actual show,” said Fabiszak. The students even work with INews, a professional level program that isn’t even used on the college journalism level. “The program is difficult to use, but I know that we are really learning a lot,” George said.

A typical Saturday would consist of a board meeting where the team of ten students discuss potential stories, then filming on site with the film crew, and finally the editing of the “packages” that will be seen by audiences.

“If you have a passion for broadcast journalism, you should definitely consider applying for the program,” George said. Fabiszak always knew she wanted to major in journalism in college, but has a newfound love of broadast journalism thanks to her experiences with the Teen Media Project. Fabiszak now sees television production in broadcast journalism as a promising career option as well.

For Fabiszak, “I do think it will give us an advantage, and that is really exciting.”

Karly Horn is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.