On Tuesday, Nov. 6, CHSTV stepped behind the media line to take their place among San Diego county’s professional news stations, including NBC, ABC, Fox, and KUSI, in covering Election Night at Golden Hall.The Golden Hall event, which takes place every two years, is a gathering of various San Diego media outlets to report election results.

This year’s event was particularly important, since it took place on the presidential election day. Of all the news outlets broadcasting from Golden Hall, CHSTV was the only high school news outlet present.

“It’s intimidating,” said senior Seannie Bryan, who anchored for CHSTV’s Golden Hall broadcasts.“You’re nervous because you see everyone, and they’re so practiced and seasoned. But it’s exciting to anchor it.”

Despite the presence of more experienced news stations, CHSTV had confidence in their capabilities and held their own. With six iPads, HD equipment and live streaming technology, their broadcast has never been more advanced. The crew takes pride in their professionalism.

“We’re a professional team, and we take ourselves seriously,” junior Sam Stadlberger said. “It’s going to be a much more clean, precise broadcast. There was so much planning that went into it.”

CHSTV worked at Golden Hall from noon to midnight in a day packed with constant activity. Upon arrival, the crew had to set up everything they needed to broadcast and put together their final show. Then, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the crew aired live broadcasts every hour on the hour. Although the broadcasts themselves each lasted only about 5 minutes, the work that went into the broadcasts took every second of the night.

“In between broadcasts, we’re running around, not only writing scripts but talking to reporters and getting updated on the polls,” senior and co-anchor Brad Streicher said.

The crew covered every aspect of Election Night, making sure to interview Democrats and Republicans, politicians and the public to ensure a balanced, non-biased report. CHSTV also ventured beyond Golden Hall, taping segments at different locations in downtown San Diego to cover the propositions. When reporting on Propositions 34 and 36 (concerning the death penalty and the three strikes law), CHSTV members even taped a segment at the San Diego County Jail.

After a long day of reporting, editing, and writing, CHSTV put on their last live broadcast at 9 p.m. But the night was far from over. The crew then had to tape the next morning’s show, which was 17 minutes long in comparison to their regular 10 minutes. The crew had to wait until 9:30 p.m. to begin putting together the show, ending around midnight.

CHSTV ultimately hopes to help students understand and relate to politics, including the various propositions. They face the challenge of getting younger generations involved and interested in political issues.

“It’s always a challenge. People joke, ‘Oh, I’m just a teen, I don’t know about politics,’” Streicher said. “We try to help them see that these issues can affect them, too.”

And, in educating others through their Golden Hall experience, CHSTV also educates themselves. In having the opportunity to cover Election Night amidst so many professional journalists, the CHSTV crew gains experience not only in the field of journalism, but in the field of politics and government.

“It’s a learning experience for us all. I’m learning everything as it goes,” junior and producer Adam Faringhy said. “It does get a little stressful at times, but you gain so much knowledge. And if you want to learn about politics, [Golden Hall] is probably the best place to learn that.”

CHSTV greatly appreciates their audience and the support they get from viewers.

“We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone tuning in. It’s a huge deal,” Streicher said. “To know that other people are taking an interest in what we’re doing means so much to us.”

Photos by: Seannie Bryan and Shannon Casey

[scrollGallery id=34]