Owens photojournalism students visit Blade, 13 ABC News studio

  There was no school at Owens today due to teacher training, so a small group of the Intro to PJ class/Owens Outlook student staffers took advantage of the free time and went on a field trip.
   We piled into an Owens van and first headed to the Toledo Blade. I gave a tour of the historic building, including the photo department and the newsroom, where they met Dave Zapotosky, the photography supervisor (and my boss).
   Zap briefly outlined how we transitioned from B&W film to digital, and explained the pros and cons of photojournalism in the digital age.
   We also bumped into Blade sports reporter Rachel Lenzi. Rachel, who covers UM football and was on her way to Ann Arbor, offered this great advice, which I paraphrased:

Don't forget to photograph the emotions of sporting events. After all, your not just shooting action, you're covering people.

   Next, we toured the 13abc newsroom. The tour, led by 13abc news anchor Diane Larson (who is also a student in the Intro to PJ class), included watching a live noon newscast from within the studio and control rooms.
   They met many of the morning news crew, including anchor Jeff Smith and Blizzard Bill, who sported a suit/tie and wore tennis shoes. In fact, we stood less than 10 feet from Blizzard Bill as he pointed to a blank blue screen and warned us that rain was coming. It was pretty surreal.
   I'm glad I took them to the Blade first. I have to admit that a messy newspaper newsroom, with desks piled high with aging newspapers and news releases, doesn't even slightly compare to the bells and whistles of a modern TV news studio! Even the TV cameras were automated!
   But nobody was more excited than starstruck Katie Buzdor, the editor of the Outlook, who actually had tears in her eyes when she was handed an autographed photo of Chief Meteorologist Jay Berschback! I wish all students were that enthusiastic over news!
   It was a great morning, and bonus points were had by all! 
   Here is a Tweet posted by Diane after the tour:

Owens Outlook editor Katie Buzdor w/ PHO 245 class touring 13abc during the noon news w/ Jeff Smith… http://t.co/QpdKFbSaxs
— Diane Larson (@DianeLarson) October 20, 2014

13abc reporter Kelly Heidbreder, left, talks to the Intro to PJ class during a tour of the newsroom. (Cell Photo by Lori King)