Southport State High students were journalists for a day recently when they helped film a 60-second video clip for the Griffith University 1-minute journalist competition.
The budding journalists helped Humanities lecturer Dr Peter McAllister film a story about New Zealand students’ welfare on the Gold Coast as a pilot for the competition].
Held by the School of Humanities, the challenge is open to Year 11 and 12 students in NSW and QLD.
To enter the competition students must shoot a 60-second video on a news issue of their choice with an iPhone or other digital device.
“We want the competition to have a strong hands-on, rough-and-ready feel to it and a focus on citizen journalism,” Dr McAllister said.
“So mobile phone cameras are exactly the type of device to shoot on and they are also something most students have.”
The competition will run from May until July 20 and Dr McAllister said he hoped it would help introduce secondary school students to the exciting possibilities of a career in journalism.
“The aim is to show students journalism is something they can do themselves in their own community.
“Journalism skills are also useful in an incredible range of roles, which is why journalism graduates never have problems getting jobs,” he said.
“That’s why it is good to get the skills out there and get kids involved.”
The competition is supported by the Gold Coast Bulletin and Channel 9 Gold Coast with internships for the winning students and a screening of the winning video.