Now in its 16th year, the Loveland High School News Network (LHSNN) has been one of the most unique classes LHS offers. LHSNN is a student-produced, bi-weekly news program that covers events happening at LHS, Loveland athletics, and what’s happening in the Loveland community as a whole. The crew also performs entertaining skits around the school.
LHSNN has changed drastically since its 16 years of existence. Originally, it was more of an extracurricular and nowhere near the quality that it is today. According to James Barrett, the teacher in charge of LHSNN, students used to film LHSNN during the five-minute period when students went from one class to the next because it wasn’t its own designated class yet. This, and the fact that the technology was nowhere near what it is today, made it very difficult to deliver well-produced, creative content. Now, LHSNN has its own 45-minute period and all of the equipment to deliver entertaining, informative, and high-quality news programs.
Now, LHSNN serves as its own class, but students have to apply and get accepted. Starting next year, the dynamic will change again, but for a very long time, you had to be a senior in order to be part of the LHSNN crew. The application process consisted of an in-person audition and a written application. After all of the auditions, Barrett chose 10-15 students to be LHSNN crew members. He then split this larger group into two semester groups. One group would start the year and then a brand new group would take over after winter break. For the 2023-2024 school year, Barrett decided to completely change the class. Now, Digital Media Production, another class Barrett teaches, is a prerequisite for LHSNN. Also, there will only be one group for the entire year and this group can have juniors and seniors. This means someone can potentially be part of the crew for two years in a row. Finally, the application process changes slightly. There is still a written application, but the audition will be a 30-60 second video. This video should include an explanation of why you should be part of LHSNN and an interview with a teacher, coach, boss, or activity advisor explaining why you would be a good addition to the LHSNN team.
Once accepted into LHSNN, you will get to experiment with the plethora of equipment Barrett’s studio has to offer. The studio contains multiple Sony a6400 cameras, a Sony A7 III camera, a Yeti Microphone, boom mics, a green screen, many studio lights, tripods, and dozens of iMacs that make video editing much easier. The school also provides the LHSNN crew with free Adobe subscriptions, which make high-quality editing possible. In LHSNN, you will primarily use Premiere Pro, the video editing software, but you may use Photoshop from time to time.
If you want to check out past LHSNN episodes, you can visit this link. For more information on what LHSNN is all about and the application process, you can visit Barrett in room 283 or email him at barretja@lovelandschools.org.