Behind JRocketTV

George+Cano+and+Noah+Alonzo+get+ready+for+another+broadcast.+JRocketTV+produces+a+video+every+week.

Photo By: Ashley Brown

George Cano and Noah Alonzo get ready for another broadcast. JRocketTV produces a video every week.

Students at Judson High School should be well aware of the ongoing weekly broadcast that occurs on campus. Every week, the JRocketTV crew informs students about what is going on at Judson High School, and other newsworthy stories. Informing students about new technology, new movies, the latest news, and the word on the street.

“JRocketTV is a student based news system. We do the news [for the] school, and [also cover] the local news,” senior Ashley Brown said. “Not many people are aware of what’s going on around them.”

Many students may not know, but JRocketTV has been an entity on campus for a while.

“I know JRocketTV was probably on before I got here. It was going on my freshman year, and I’m a senior now,” Brown said. “It started getting a little bit bigger last year because not many people would watch it. Because students are more involved in JRocketTV, they want to watch it, and we get more views.”

The JRocketTV crew works hard throughout the week trying to put everything together by Thursday, so students can see it on Friday.

“Our teacher, Mr. Bourbois, tells us the stories we need to find. We go online and we look for the latest news. Two people that week [are chosen to] do the broadcasts in the studio room. We go around the school and ask kids the question of the week. Then, George [Cano] just lays it all out. Lastly, we send it out for advisory classes to watch.” It all comes together within a week.

Even though JRocketTV is a lot of hard work to create, it gives the students essential communication skills that they can take with them in the future.

“I guess becoming a better public speaker would be a perk,” senior and editor George Cano said. “We are taught how to interview somebody. We are taught how to read the teleprompter. It all makes us better readers and speakers.”

Students seemingly enjoy watching JRocketTV, but they do not really know the time it takes to edit the entire broadcast throughout the week. It varies, depending on what they film that week, who is editing the stories, and what the broadcast is about.

“I literally did an [entire] edit in two periods. So it depends what you’re doing; different edits take different times and it depends how much effort you put into it also,” Cano said.

Students usually only see two or three people on the JRocketTV crew, but there are members that work behind the scenes working the camera or making sure everything is on point.

“We have two people on camera: somebody on the actual camera, and then someone working the teleprompter,” Cano said. “Mr. B supervises everything. We have an extra person just in case we need something.”

Watching JRocketTV every Friday is a thing student’s can do during their advisory classes. With more students getting involved, it can be a memorable experience for the whole school. Most importantly, students can relieve their memories on JRocketTV’s YouTube channel.

“I just want people to be more aware and I want them to want to watch JRocketTV,” Brown said. “I want people to get more involved because it’s something for the entire school. The school seemingly tends to focus more on like athletes and people more involved in [big] clubs. But for those that don’t do much, we want to offer something for them to be a part of. We are one whole school.”

JRocketTV has been very successful this year. With more support, it can be something amazing for Judson High School to continue for ongoing years.