May 15 was a day to remember for East Hampton High School’s Bonac Broadcasting System, which produces a bimonthly news program called “The Current,” covering all things Bonac.
In its first year broadcasting to the public on Instagram and YouTube, the student-run show took home a second-place award for Best Anchor Duo at the BASH Awards at Hofstra University, out of a field of close to 30 high schools. BASH stands for “Broadcasting Awards for Senior High.”
“I was really proud,” said their teacher, Jeremy Quitko. “It created a much different feeling on our ride home with a win and with that trophy.”
The show has a few anchors, but one pairing really stood out: Jameson Grant and Lua Li, who are seniors. “We felt like the chemistry they had on screen was really incredible,” Mr. Quitko said. “They were funny and they were informative. We all decided it was our favorite combination of anchors.”
In years past, students learned only video production. “It’s two weeks to produce a broadcast, and on Friday the show goes live,” Mr. Quitko said.
The class covers pop culture, school events, and even “man-on-the-street” stories, where they go around the school interviewing their peers on various topics.
“We make a list of things we think would be good content,” Mr. Quitko explained. “One of the students will reach out to other teachers to see if they have anything going on. The students take center stage, doing most of the work on and off the camera. Then it becomes figuring out who is going to do editing . . . [and] what packages are going to be put together.”
For the past six years, the BASH Awards have been held both online and in person to celebrate student accomplishments in broadcasting. The program was created by the Southold School District in 2017, growing each year and moving to the much larger venue of Stony Brook University in 2019. This year, the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University hosted the event.
“Hofstra was an incredible partner,” Mr. Quitko said. “To see what they put together for everybody was really incredible.”
Delivering the keynote address was Lee Goldberg, a journalist from Channel 7 News. Following that was a panel discussion with Newsday reporters, who answered student questions and offered anecdotes from their careers. Westhampton Beach High School’s “Hurricane Watch” show took home the award for Best Broadcast.
Community members can find Bonac Broadcasting System on Instagram at @bbsthecurrent, or on YouTube by searching “BBS: The Current.”