Pitch Meeting Show Notes
Video teachers from all over the country joined us for our live story brainstorming session last night. The full webinar (45min) and full list of story ideas are available for for ASB Classroom subscribers. Sign in to asbclassroom.com to watch. If you don’t have a subscription, you can get one here.
Dave Davis presented two story ideas for middle or high school broadcast journalism programs. “Gaming Disorder” and “Pets Reduce Stress”.
“Gaming Disorder”
(Story Idea from Dave Davis)
This topic offers lots of possibilities for interviews you can conduct at school, and for b-roll you can find as close as somebody’s basement. That is because video games are everywhere, as are the young people who enjoy them. But can it go too far?
FOCUS: Playing video games can turn into an addiction for some teenagers.
SOURCES: Finding a couple of dedicated (possibly addicted) teen gamers will help shine light on that side of the story, but you might also find a young person who curtailed their gaming when they realized it was becoming a problem. How and why did they slow it down? How did it change their daily routines? As for an expert voice, if you feel you need it…anyone who treats addictions would be a good place to start. Do not overlook the possibility of talking to the parents of one of the teens who spends a ton of time gaming. Their perspectives can add to the story.
As for gaming addiction itself, in 2019 the World Health Organization recognized it as a disease, calling it “Gaming Disorder.”
Read more at this link: https://tinyurl.com/4w2shbe3
These warning signs were easy to find on a Google search:
Signs to Watch For
Thinking about gaming all or a lot of the time.
Feeling bad when you can't play.
Needing to spend more and more time playing to feel good.
Not being able to quit or even play less.
Not wanting to do other things that you used to like.
Having problems at work, school, or home because of your gaming.
Some of the physical signs or symptoms of video game addiction include:
Fatigue.
Migraines due to intense concentration or eye strain.
Carpal tunnel syndrome caused by the overuse of a controller or computer mouse.
Poor personal hygiene.
“Pets Reduce Stress”
Stanley Coren, a noted “dog author,” wrote on the Psychology Today website about dogs and their ability to reduce stress in college students before an exam: “The results of our study indicate that therapy dog sessions considerably reduce stress and improve aspects of student well‐being."
Meditation, exercise, and relaxation, as the article notes, are other ways to reduce stress, but their impact fades away in a couple of hours. The stress reduction experienced after a session with a therapy dog lasts up to ten hours. So about that pre-SAT/ACT tension…
Read more at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mpddrd2w
FOCUS: Pets can greatly reduce stress in teenagers.
You do not have to dig too deep to find proof that interacting with pets, such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs, etc. is a great way to calm an anxious teen. This story would be such a visual delight, because pets, especially therapy dogs, are so engaging on camera. The sounds of a teen interacting with the dog, or any pet, is priceless.
SOURCES: No need to find a dozen teens and their pets to prove the focus. Find two or three. Get them talking about how a stressful day gets better when they get home to their pup. Cite studies, yes, if you need to hammer home the focus, but anecdotes and the visual proof (say it, prove it) of kids with dogs will sell the story.
IDEA: See if there is a school nearby using therapy dogs to calm kids down. It could be an elementary school. Some of them have a dog on campus just for this purpose, OR maybe a teacher in your school has a class pet that students get to interact with now and then.
There are numerous benefits to a pet in class if you want to take that approach, especially if you can find this story on your campus.
Read more about the value of pets in the classroom at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mpddrd2w
Please leave your thoughts, ideas, and feedback in the comments. Has anyone covered something similar? If so, post your story in the comments.