There's a bustling newsroom inside Petaluma High

At @Petaluma High School, there is a working broadcast studio. You’ll find an anchor desk, boom mic, teleprompter, a control room with a real audio board, and a logo on the wall drawn by a student.
This is the home of Trojan Broadcast Channel. I got a tour of the studio today from three of the students who are part of it and cover operations, editing, and anchoring, among other roles.

"It's our morning announcement," one of the students told me about the broadcast. "Every morning, every single class is watching." The audience doesn't stop at the school, though. Parents and neighbors tune in on YouTube to see what the students are covering.

TBC is a career-technical-education (CTE) class, and it's entirely student-run. The students in the program plan the rundown a week or two out, film Wednesdays and Fridays, rotate the anchor chair, edit everything themselves, and manage each other. First-years learn cameras; by year three, students are pitching and shooting their own field segments.

On a morning this week, they will be up before dawn to film Senior Sunrise, where the senior class gathers to watch the sun come up. They'll ask the seniors where they see themselves in ten years and what they'd tell their younger selves, then edit it into a segment for the broadcast.

Their teacher, @Jamil Dawsari, who also teaches history, took the program over in 2020 with 13 students. It's now up to 192 across two schools, including a sister program at @Petaluma Junior High School called Bantam Broadcast.

As of last year, you can hire them. TBC Digital Media, launched alongside a new nonprofit built around the program, lets local businesses and nonprofits hire the students to make professional videos, which help fund the programs.

Their website lists three packages, from a Starter "for small businesses that want simple, polished content" up to a campaign tier with "multi-camera crew & audio" and a "social rollout plan & analytics guidance." The students even handle proposals and invoicing. "We're all still new to this whole business creating portion," one of the students said, "but we're really, really excited to start."

Among other aspects of the program, the funding helps send the students to the Student Television Network (STN) national convention, where they get a prompt, a deadline, and go up against thousands of other high school student journalists. The last two years it was in Tampa; next year, Long Beach. Because of the client work and community donations, the trip cost the students nothing.

I've worked in and around media for almost two decades, and I wish I'd had something like this earlier in my life. A place where young people have real autonomy and get to roll up their sleeves to make media come to life for an audience. What an incredible opportunity.

If your business or nonprofit needs a video, the contact form is at trojanbroadcast.org.

📷: the broadcast studio and the control room

At @Petaluma High School, there is a working broadcast studio. You’ll find an anchor desk, boom mic, teleprompter, a control room with a real audio board, and a logo on the wall drawn by a student. This is the home of Trojan Broadcast Channel. I got a tour of the studio today from three of the students who are part of it and cover operations, editing, and anchoring, among other roles. "It's our morning announcement," one of the students told me about the broadcast. "Every morning, every single class is watching." The audience doesn't stop at the school, though. Parents and neighbors tune in on YouTube to see what the students are covering. TBC is a career-technical-education (CTE) class, and it's entirely student-run. The students in the program plan the rundown a week or two out, film Wednesdays and Fridays, rotate the anchor chair, edit everything themselves, and manage each other. First-years learn cameras; by year three, students are pitching and shooting their own field segments. On a morning this week, they will be up before dawn to film Senior Sunrise, where the senior class gathers to watch the sun come up. They'll ask the seniors where they see themselves in ten years and what they'd tell their younger selves, then edit it into a segment for the broadcast. Their teacher, @Jamil Dawsari, who also teaches history, took the program over in 2020 with 13 students. It's now up to 192 across two schools, including a sister program at @Petaluma Junior High School called Bantam Broadcast. As of last year, you can hire them. TBC Digital Media, launched alongside a new nonprofit built around the program, lets local businesses and nonprofits hire the students to make professional videos, which help fund the programs. Their website lists three packages, from a Starter "for small businesses that want simple, polished content" up to a campaign tier with "multi-camera crew & audio" and a "social rollout plan & analytics guidance." The students even handle proposals and invoicing. "We're all still new to this whole business creating portion," one of the students said, "but we're really, really excited to start." Among other aspects of the program, the funding helps send the students to the Student Television Network (STN) national convention, where they get a prompt, a deadline, and go up against thousands of other high school student journalists. The last two years it was in Tampa; next year, Long Beach. Because of the client work and community donations, the trip cost the students nothing. I've worked in and around media for almost two decades, and I wish I'd had something like this earlier in my life. A place where young people have real autonomy and get to roll up their sleeves to make media come to life for an audience. What an incredible opportunity. If your business or nonprofit needs a video, the contact form is at trojanbroadcast.org. 📷: the broadcast studio and the control room