The New Face of Homeroom
NEIRAD enilno edition
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There aren’t many students who would stay after school until 6:30 pm.. However, you can find one particular senior in the Blue Wave News production room no matter what the circumstances. Blue Wave News has a new face, with 76 homerooms tuning in and more than 1,500 students waiting to hear the latest school news, you can’t help but wonder who is ready to take on the demanding job of Blue Wave News Anchor?
The answer is senior James Payne. This fall we all watched as James stepped in for Dean Coots, now a freshman at Elon University in North Carolina, as news anchor and took on the challenge of starting a new year of reporting the thrilling sports, and crazy events at Darien High School.
James’s isn’t doing it alone though. Faculty Advisor; Mr. Ivan Crowther is on board with the 10-person Blue Wave News Team. You might have seen him in the library telling kids to be quiet, but he also serves a vital part in directing and producing Blue Wave News. Mr. Crowther is happy with his decision to make James the new anchor. “James is doing really well and this is his second year in Blue Wave News, he is working hard and since he is a senior this will be his last year,” Mr. Crowther remarked.
Blue Wave News was created in the fall of 2005. Payne first started getting involved with video production his sophomore year and was part of the team by his junior year. James gave details on why he wanted to take on the hectic job of becoming the new anchor, “I have always been interested in movie and cinema…Dean Coots came up to me last year and asked if I would like to take over, I thought about it for a while and decided to do it.”
James is eager to get going and willing to jump in to take some risks on trying new things on the show. Neirad asked some Blue Wave News viewers their thoughts. “We got kids interested to do Music Spotlight, we also want to do a classroom spotlight and go in and show what a certain class has to offer.” Sounds like Blue Wave News could be a lot different when next homeroom rolls around later this month.
As for what change viewers would like to see on the show Neirad asked BWN viewers, “I want the show to be less corny it needs to be more laid back and relaxed,” sophomore Katie Maccarone said.
On the September 23 episode of Blue Wave News the team took a bold step forward by changing the opening theme song as well as how the pictures are displayed in the opening montage of the show.
Although not everyone is adjusting to this new change, sophomore Shannon Beatty said, “I think the opening was better last year because it was more intense and showed more pride and this one had fast clips. I just think the old Blue Wave News format was more creative.”
Along with kicking off the new season of Blue Wave News there have also been some technical difficulties that have arisen. Many students noticed the ongoing sound problems in the first episode, but James is on the case. “We don’t get every little mishap but we will try to fix it as we go on.”
It seems that Blue Wave News has fallen into good hands. Each new episode is a chance to make improvements and make the show that much more interesting. For any students who are interested in Blue Wave News they can talk to Mr. Crowther in the library.
As Dean Coots and the first Blue Wave News anchor, Andrew Kirkman, now a sophomore at American University, were remembered for their creative episodes each season, James said, “I would want to be remembered as someone everyone enjoys to see and hear the news from.” Hopefully this new season of Blue Wave News is going to be just as successful as past years; all eyes are watching to see just what James Payne will do next.
