Florida A&M University (FAMU) seniors Jessica Larché, Shari Loftley, Brittany Prince, and Driadonna Roland were selected as the permanent anchors for the new live newscast that will air on FAMU TV-20 every Monday and Wednesday at
5 p.m. beginning September 17.
“When it’s all over, I would have been part of this inaugural newscast and have set the standard for things to come,” Prince said. “This is something that can only get better from here.”
Larché and Prince will be the main news anchors, while Loftley covers sports and Roland handles weather.
Students enrolled in the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication (SJGC) TV News and Advanced TV News classes will rotate positions as producer, associate producer, videographer/editor and reporters for the newscast as well.
Students underwent a lengthy audition process on August 27, the first day of class, and were notified the next day of their new positions.
“We’re not just anchors,” said Roland. “We’re students too. We have to juggle five, six and seven classes, financial aid, having a job and the newscast.”
Loftley is a weekend anchor at WCTV’s Eyewitness News; Larché maintains a 4.0 GPA; Roland is an editor for FAMU’s Journey magazine and award-winning newspaper, The Famuan; and Prince is a member of the University Honors Program and a Distinguished Scholars Award recipient.
According to Roland, the four main anchors and students from the SJGC are responsible for producing a live newscast that covers local, state and national news. Larché said the newscast will be broadcasted in Tallahassee, Valdosta and Thomasville, and have a CNN news-feed. The news-feed allows the production team to use CNN’s video footage for national stories.
Kenneth Jones, the professor of the TV News and Advanced TV News courses, said the twice a week live newscast is just phase one of the SJGC’s master plan.
“Hopefully students will get the required skills to produce a very high quality newscast,” Jones said. “Starting fall 2008, we hope to have a daily newscast put on by our students.”
Cheers of anticipation and anxious smiles gleamed from the new anchors when they explained the eagerness and importance of being part of the newscast.
“I can’t wait for the moment after our first broadcast goes off, that’s when it’ll hit me,” Loftley said. “When you are part of a milestone, you’re hardly aware of how big it is until it happens.”
According to Loftley the live newscast could not have come at a better time.
