AUDITIONS ARE COMING!!

On-air auditions will be held on March 2, 2008 from 9am to 4pm at CitrusTV. A sign-up sheet will be posted right outside of the TV station on Wednesday at Noon. You will have Wednesday the 27th through Friday the 29th to choose a time for your audition. Auditions will be approximately 15 minutes long. Even if you DO NOT want to be on-air, you MUST sign up for a time to come in on Sunday and fill out paperwork for me.

PLEASE MARK THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS for people who miss auditions unless you contact me BEFOREHAND. I will be more than happy to accommodate you if I hear from you ahead of time.

Auditions will consist of reading TWO (2) stories in Spanish (en espanol) off the teleprompter. You will also need to pick a story that you believe is newsworthy and write a 20-second story in Spanish (en espanol). You will need to bring TWO (2) copies of that story with you and you will read it following your read of the teleprompter. There will be a separate audition for weather and sports should you desire to do so. I expect you to show up looking professional. This means: ladies should be wearing a nice shirt or blouse (please cover your chest) with a suit jacket if you have one. Men are expected to wear a suit if you have one or at the very least, khakis with a dress shirt and tie. It will help the auditioning team to envision you being on-air if you look the part on Sunday. If you are applying for an off-air position you do not have to wear professional dress.

We are looking for people to be a part of the broadcast in many different ways, these include but are not limited to: public relations, advertising, reporting, on-air talent, writing, researching, mentors, voice coaches, web design, graphic design. If you have an idea for how you can be involved send an e-mail to jwtarr@syr.edu and your idea will thoroughly reviewed and considered.

Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing you!!

Training Sessions!

We will have three training sessions this week and you will find the times and descriptions below. All training sessions will be at CitrusTV (on the corner of Comstock and Waverly in the back of Watson). If you are unable to get into the building please call (818) 224-0519 and we will open the door for you.

WRITING SESSION: NOON-1pm FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008-During this session we will review the basics for writing for broadcast news. This differs greatly from your english classes and even from how you would write for a newspaper. We will also introduce you to/review the script program (ENPS).

CONTROL ROOM SESSION: 7pm-8pm, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008-During this session you will have the opportunity to work with all of the technical aspects in the control room that you will need to know to produce the show. You will have the chance to wear the director's headset, make a graphic, work the audio board, and also we will introduce you to our digital video system.

STUDIO SESSION: 2pm-4pm, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008-During this session you will have the opportunity to receive on-air training. You will read off the teleprompter and will receive constructive feedback on how to improve your delivery and on-camera prescence. We will also learn how to use the cameras and spend a little time learning how to do basic editing.

Our Pilot Show!!

I am honored to present to everyone the Pilot Program of CitrusTV's and Syracuse University's first-ever Spanish television news broadcast. This production is due to the hardwork of so many Syracuse University students and faculty members and, in addition, the help of members of the Syracuse community. I am so proud of the finished project and I am beyond excited that CitrusTV has decided to approve our show. CTV en espanol is thought to be one of just five student-run college Spanish television news broadcasts.

Please check this blog frequently for updates on the progress of the show. Now that the show has been approved, you will also be able to find stories from our broadcasts, behind the scenes looks at the show, and reports from students studying around the world. Following this post, we will post in both Spanish and English to respect our many bilingual (and multilingual) viewers and participants. If you have any questions or comments please direct them to jwtarr01@gmail.com.

Congratulations to everyone on this tremendous achievement! I look forward to continuing to work with everyone in the future on what is a groundbreaking accomplishment for our team, our university, and our community! Please enjoy the video below by clicking play. Felicitaciones!

Pilot Show Cast and Crew:

• Executive Producer/Director- Jason Tarr
• Anchor/Producer- Paloma Veloz
• Anchor/Producer- Michelle San Miguel
• Producer/Writer- Jose Miguel Hernandez
• Entertainment Reporter- Nassdja Valentin
• Weather Reporter- Celina Tousignant
• Sports Reporter- Sean Silva
• Technical Director- Jaime Sasso
• Graphics- Lara Rolo
• Audio- Eva Zaccaria and Stephanie Claytor
• Floor Director- Jessica Shaw
• Camera 1- Ashley Filiczkowski
• Camera 2- Matt Rivers
• Camera 3- Mariel Rosario
• Teleprompter- Nadine Dixon

Special "thank you" to the following:

• A very special thank you to Professor Tere Paniagua for all of your support, hard work, and dedication to the project.
• A special thank you to the Syracuse University chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and La LUCHA for all of your hard work and support.
• A special thank you to Hugo Acosta, Max Patino, and Hilda Rosa Martinez for your support.
• Thank you to our other contributors present during the pilot show taping: Jackie Checho, Danielle Dean, Theresa Dean, Stephanie Frias, Shavon Greene, Jason Keeler, Valerie Polanco, Fenton Soliz.
• Thank you to those who sent in story ideas: Stephanie Frias, Kirssy Gonzalez, Jose Miguel Hernandez, Lissette Silva, Jessica Urraca.
• Thank you to those who came to our training sessions: Jackie Checho, Danielle Dean, Theresa Dean, Nadine Dixon, Nelson Figueroa, John Jimenez, Jason Keeler, Sinhue Mendoza, Sarina Morales, Sheena Oglesby, Valerie Polanco, Mariel Rosario, Amanda Romaniello, Michelle San Miguel, Sarah Santiesteban, Jessica Shaw, Lissette Silva, Fenton Soliz, Celina Tousignant, Paloma Veloz
• Thank you to all those who came to our general interest meeting, showed your support, or have contributed in anyway to the creation of CitrusTV en espanol.