Creative video-in-reverse technique. Good, informative message. Nice metaphor of human body as canvas. Good VO, appropriate tone.

Really good connection between cause and effect. Timely subject. Really good, creative work.

Excellent testimonial. Simple and effective. I would have liked to see some more pictures with VO. 

This entry almost resembles a newsmagazine type of broadcast. Good anchor with clear voice. Good job briefly teasing the band story before jumping to governor's visit. Good job getting the interview with the governor. The questions could have been improved. Be sure to invest plenty of time in interview prep to determine the best questions. Consider this advice: If the governor is visiting Russell County High, it's time for the entire journalism staff to sit down -- perhaps with the advisor -- and decide on at least three solid questions. I would say two of the questions should relate to the student body or local area to make it relevant to the audience. Avoid asking the governor a question that anyone could answer -- asking why he's there -- ask specific, pointed questions that expand and dig into what he said. Overall, work on reporter development and building storytelling content in your newscast. Try to avoid long-form interviews. The best advice for mastering this type of storytelling is to watch the pros do it. The network and cable outlets and local markets like Louisville, Lexington and Nashville usually have high-quality reporting content. Watch, learn -- and then incorporate to continue improving this fairly good newscast.

Good graphics, good anchor. Good job localizing the top story by interviewing local folks involved with earthquake relief. I would have introduced the local angle earlier to ensure audience attention. Instead of leading with the broad angle of the story, lead with a line that tells people locals are involved. Good interview with relief volunteer, but try to vary the camera shot. Overall, work on reporter development and building storytelling content in your newscast. Try to avoid long-form interviews.

Good video work during intro. Good interview. I liked the use of natural sound in the interview in the first story. Overall, work on reporter development and building storytelling content in your newscast. Try to avoid long-form interviews. The best advice for mastering this type of storytelling is to watch the pros do it. The network and cable outlets and local markets like Louisville usually have high-quality reporting content. Watch, learn -- and then incorporate to continue improving.

Excellent video that tells a story! Liked the black and white still photographs. The emotional element was apparent. Excellent writing to the soundtrack.

Excellent videography in this piece. Good job of maintaining a consistent theme throughout. Very appropriate soundtrack.

Excellent videography work. A classic for basketball fans.

This actually put a smile on my face. Kind of SNL-like. You know it's funny when the talent can barely hold a straight face. Great work.

Excellent voiceover talent. Very funny narrative. Great acting, too! Good work.

Good work making fun of some otherwise pretty serious stuff. Treating like an addiction of some type added to the narrative. We've all had symptoms of "senioritous"

Love the name. The tease and the opening are excellent. I like the solid story lineup - from hard news to features to sports. These students are impressive storytellers. Good job for digging into the revolving door issue with the superintendent's office. I like the "Dateline."

Good anchor. Good story lineup that included plenty of good quality interviews. Overall, impressive, quality work that digs into substantive stories - both school- and community-related - that people care about. Keep up the good work. (Note: Both the first- and second-place entries were very good and included almost equally laudable journalism - the first had a slightly higher quality opening that gave it professional polish.)

Good story lineup. Interviews for the trimester and freshman academy were good. I would have liked to hear more reporter narrative to keep stories tightly wound. For example, the succession of soundbites in the instructional leadership team piece needed some narration to present the basic facts - then you pull out the best parts of the soundbites for the story. Otherwise, the quick-firing soundbites are a little hard to follow. Here's a tip: Reporters generally do a better job of presenting the basic information for the audience - synthesizing the most critical elements. Let the people you're interviewing add context and opinion.

Very good documentary. Good interview technique and shots. Interesting, unusual story.

Great story from Fleming County about a form of education that many today probably couldn't image - one-room schools. Loved the pickin' music underneath.

Touching story about Mr. Croucher - who would know him better than you? Good job.

Creative lead. Nice consistent vocal quality. Good interviews with the teacher and Bruce. Good job writing effective lead-ins to the soundbites without parroting the subject. I liked your balance between script and soundbites. Story warrants first place among stiff competition.

Excellent use of natural sound on beginning. Good video with nice shot variation. I liked how you wrote to the video - a noticeable distinction of quality TV news. The tease was good, but hold your position at the end for several seconds before looking away.

Good standup tease that makes the audience want to know more about what's going on (see more on standup below). Good interviews with the kids. I liked the use and variation of video in this package. One issue: I wasn't clear on where you were and what was happening in the standup tease. What was the relationship between the tease and the story? Clearly tell the audience where you are and what it has to do with the story. I gather it is related to the service learning project, but tell me what exactly is going on there.

Excellent work. A model sports feature. Very good video and soundbites. I liked the way you wrote into the bites. Keep up the good work.

Very good lead and opening shot. Good write up to the soundbites. Excellent video throughout. Be sure to carefully enunciate and put some energy behind the script. Very good work.  

Good soundbites on top. Excellent video work. You told a good story. Be sure to enunciate carefully. Good overall.

Good job on a powerfully compelling package. Real stories are the essence of journalism and this is it. Interview selection make this story remarkably impactful to the audience. It's frighteningly real. Good job attributing information appropriately. Excellent standup and good precast tease too. Be sure to keep the writing and soundbites tight and focused. Overall, outstanding journalism.

Interesting, timely story that was well researched and presented. Excellent interview selection made this story a close second to first-place winner. Good job of attributing your information to appropriate sources. Good precast tease. Excellent interview with Mallory. I particularly liked the way you transitioned to the SOT using video of her in class as you introduced her. Good standup and good video throughout the piece. Consider using on-screen graphics to identify interviewees. I'd be inclined to use students' full names. Also, tell the audience who Giltner is and what gives her credibility to speak on the subject. Is she a school nurse, etc? Good piece overall that flowed well and was very informative for the audience.

Good, well-written story. Good video and soundbites. Excellent reporter voice quality. Work on writing a lead that grabs audience attention.

When entering the sports package category, students should treat sports stories as they would news pieces. Give the audience a tightly written, creatively shot piece that tells a story about a particular sports topic. It could be a district basketball or football championship or a cheerleading contest winner. Regardless, include a good reporter script wrapped around good soundbites and natural sound. Also note: a little music is fine, but more than 10 seconds would be excessive in a sports package.

I liked the shots in this VO/SOT. The best element was the runner needing "oxygen ... oxygen."

Good VO/SOT on cheerleading. Good vocal quality. Videography was good, but lighting could have been a tad better on couple of the interviews - some looked a little dark. Good overall.

Good VO/SOT. Liked the variety of interviews.

Excellent videography. No wonder this story was a winner in the news feature category too, because good video makes good stories and good television. From the canon firing to the kids interviewed, it was well-planned and shot.

Good video work that helped tell a story really well.

Sports action is difficult to follow, but this piece did a good job with it. Keep your football pan shots smooth, though.