On Tuesday, May 30, students from St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point traveled to Chicago to visit the WGN Television Studio. Students were given a personal tour by news anchor Lourdes Duarte. The eight students run St. Mary's School news broadcast, WSMW, on a daily basis. They all have interest in television broadcasting and were excited about the opportunity to visit WGN. Addison Henry said, “Watching the crew live was my favorite part. It is amazing how much work it takes to make the news happen!"
The students visited the assignment desk, saw news editing in action, visited the control room, and then got to sit in on a live broadcast of the WGN Midday News. Getting to ask Lourdes Duarte all kinds of questions was what 5th grader Isabella Gonzalez sited as the most fascinating part of tour. She said, “It is amazing learning about all she has to do on her job!"
"I liked talking with sports reporter Jarrett Payton. He was really nice, gave us some good advice and showed us a video. It seems like he has a fun job!" said 4th grader Carson Granger.
Principal Tom Ruiz said, “This was an excellent educational experience and having our students on camera and broadcast around the world was pretty cool too! It was an experience they will never forget!”