Game on: journalism students bring finals fever to Channel 31

Game on: journalism students bring finals fever to Channel 31

A group of aspiring sports journalists will cover all the ins and outs of a blockbuster AFL finals series during their live chat show on Melbourne community television station, Channel 31.

Television The team is putting our new television facilities to use.

The Rushed Behind is an Australian rules football talk show created by a team of second year Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) students – supported by their lecturer, Phil Kafcaloudes.

Kafcaloudes, a former ABC broadcaster, said the show lets aspiring journalists develop their skills while creating entertaining content for the wider community.

“The immediacy of live broadcast is difficult to simulate so having the opportunity to expose our students to this environment is fantastic,” he said.

Journalism students are involved in all areas of production, even filling technical roles such as directing, vision switching and graphics.

Technical staff from the School of Media and Communication have been showing them the ropes, including designing the set.

“I’ve been impressed with how quickly the students have picked up all the different aspects,” Kafcaloudes said.

Nick D'Urbano, Brooke Varney, Athos Sirianos, Phil Kafcaloudes and Chris Nice The Rushed Behind cast with their lecturer. From top-left: Nick D'Urbano, Brooke Varney, Athos Sirianos, Phil Kafcaloudes and Chris Nice.

Aspiring sports journalists Brooke Varney, Nick D'Urbano, Athos Sirianos and Chris Nice co-host the show from City campus’s Media Precinct.

They met during class, brought together by their shared interest in AFL.

The Rushed Behind started in August 2017 as a weekly podcast from Building 9’s radio studio.

“Our teachers told us to be adventurous and encouraged us to start making media, so we did!” D'Urbano said.

“None of us had even touched a microphone before last year.”

One of their mates had to sit in on the first couple of recording sessions, until they learnt how to operate the equipment.

Nice said their move from podcasting to television was a case of “right time, right place”.

“We were waiting to go into the radio studio and Phil asked if we were interested in doing our show on Channel 31,” he said.

The answer was a resounding “yes” and within a few weeks, they filmed a pilot and the show was greenlit.

Journalism students Journalism students contribute to all elements of the broadcast.

Along with the podcast and television show, the team also publish footy-related content to their growing website.

“We put the word out to others in our course and now we’ve got a nice little production team,” Sirianos said.

But making the show hasn’t been without its challenges – with the team’s time management skills being put to the test.

“When we were doing the podcast, we used to research in-between takes but that’s not possible on live television,” Varney said.

Now they’ve found their on-air rhythm, preparing shows is becoming easier and they’re getting better at balancing commitments.

The team now spends Sunday nights bringing all their content ideas together – a time investment they’re happy to make.

“We don’t take this for granted,” D'Urbano said.

“My mentality is treat every episode like it’s your last because you don’t know when you’re going to get another chance like this.”

Watch The Rushed Behind 2–2.30pm Mondays until 1 October on Channel 31 (digital channel 44 and online). You can watch previous episodes on their Facebook page.

 

Story: Aeden Ratcliffe

06 September 2018

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06 September 2018

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