CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — This past week the Tucson Jewish Community Center in the Foothills was alive with the sounds of teenagers playing sports. There to capture the sights and sounds of the games were the Star Reporters who featured athletes at the JCC from all over the world.
“It’s something that I enjoy in a community that’s supportive and that’s truly amazing,” Ethan Mutchnik said.
Mutchnik is 15 years old and lives in San Jose, California. This is his third year being a Star Reporter. Reporters like Mutchnik go around the JCC and interview players about their experience. However, many players also go up to them to get an interview, making it much easier for the reporters.
“Everybody wants to do it because it’s just so encapsulating. It’s so cool in the moment,” Mutchnik said.
The reporters quickly learned that the job also involved time management and getting to know the community.
“Before, I was having to run from place to place being like, oh no I’m not going to make it, I’m not going to make it, but over time people started to know me more,” Mutchnik said.
The reporters also learned how to talk on camera. KGUN9’s Foothills reporter Andrew Christiansen showed them the camera he uses for real broadcasts.
While they aren’t creating reports for a TV channel, the reporters’ work does go on the JCC’s social media and website.
“The way you hold yourself on camera, I feel like, it plays a big role in how you come off to the audience,” Star Reporter Avey Lopez-Hanshaw said.
For some of the reporters, being on camera also came with learning how to be confident.
“I need to learn how to work a camera and what’s good for the camera and what’s going to help me get to that level,” Shoshana Jacobson, a star reporter, said.
Jacobson said she wants to be an actress, so she’s hoping being in front of the camera as a Star Reporter will help her.
Eliya Griver said she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, so being a star reporter means learning the confidence to be in front of people.
“If I go around and talk to people around the whole JCC, I can meet new people and get more comfortable talking,” Griver said.
The experience, the reporters said, is helping them towards jobs that are in front of an audience everyday.
“Go for it because you never know if you’re going to have this opportunity again,” Jacobson said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
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