Students get behind-the-scenes look inside local newsroom
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Seventh graders from New Hanover County Schools got a behind-the-scenes look at how a newsroom operates during a visit to the WWAY station on Tuesday.
Students from Williston Middle School toured the station as part of a career exploration day organized through the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and the Career and Leadership Development Academy.
During the visit, students explored multiple departments, including sales, the studio, production, and the newsroom, learning how a broadcast comes together from start to finish.
The hands-on experience is designed to help students build graduate-ready skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability, and professional responsibility.
Student Alexa Ferrell said the visit gave her a new appreciation for the work behind a newscast.
“I’ve gotten to see how many people are actually on the news team and how much people it takes to actually put out a news story,” said Ferrell.
Students also discussed how to identify credible information and distinguish real news from misinformation on social media — a lesson Ferrell said stood out.
“You can’t tell if it’s real or not, so you would have to use multiple sources to figure out if it’s true or not,” said Ferrell.
Another student, Maddison Hall, said she was surprised by the effort required to produce a broadcast.
“Y’all work really hard to put different things together into one news,” said Hall.
The visit marked the second field trip hosted at the station this school year.
