RIVERTOWNS ENTERPRISE
June 3, 2005

STUDENTS MASTER TRICKS AND TOOLS OF THE TRADE
by Judith Doolin Spikes

Eric Kuhn, who describes himself as chief political correspondent for WHHS, is chatting on his cellphone with a newspaper reporter as he walks through city streets between NBC and FOX television headquarters. Justin Mandel, producer/director/cameraman/editor for the same outfit, accompanies him. What it comes down to, Kuhn explains, is, “I do the interviews, Justin does everything else.”

Kuhn and Mandel are seniors at Hastings High School. Their “network,” essentially a news show, airs on WHoH, Hastings cable Channel 75. Since last fall, they have produced four one-hour newscasts featuring Congresswoman Nita Lowy and her opponent Richard Hoffman; the Rev. Al Sharpton; County Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins; and Jack Cafferty, host of CNN’s “American Morning.” Still to come is a June 6 interview with Bob Kerry, president of the New School and a former U.S. senator.

GETTING THE 'GET’
On this particular day, they have just watched the filming of “After Hours with Cal Thomas” at FOX. “The coolest part for me,” Kuhn reports, “was sitting in the control room when Cal came in and said to the producer, ‘I’m still trying to get Tony Blair.’ That’s what I do — just keep calling people until they finally respond. I thought, ‘Wow! They do that, too!’

“I try to find someone big and neat who interests the public, but not so big that they won’t talk to us,” he continues. “I spend hours and hours on the phone, talking to public relations people and such.”

Freddie Dorn, Thomas’ producer and a Kuhn family friend, has served as a mentor, but it’s up to Kuhn to actually book the talent. Of his interview with Cafferty, Kuhn says, “He didn’t know me from a hole in the wall, so something in my letter must have sparked his interest.”

Might it have been Kuhn’s determination, focus, and self-confidence?

Another of Kuhn’s mentors is Richard Quest, one of CNN’s top news and business anchors in London. “We’ve never met, we’ve never spoken,” Quest said in a telephone interview. “He started e-mailing me, saying how much he likes my work and asking for advice. At first I thought, ‘What kind of lunatic is this who writes to people on television?’ But something struck me about the tone of his e-mails — a little of something I saw in myself when I was young: just wanting to keep asking questions and keep writing. So I thought, ‘What’s the harm in writing him back?’” That was many months and many e-mails ago.

“I’ve seen lots of journalism students who are far too keen to tell you their opinion about a story without ever telling you about the story,” Quest continues. “But Eric is genuinely interested in the story. He has that kind of persistence that borders on nuisance value without quite crossing the line. Ninety percent of what we do as journalists is the sheer ability to keep going, to get through it. Eric has that ability.”

After he gets the “get,” Kuhn spends hours preparing for the interview. He takes an “inside the news” approach, he says, and he always tries to bring it down to “What does it mean for Hastings?”

“When I interviewed Al Sharpton,” he says, “yeah, I was interested in what he thinks about President Bush and all, but it was more like ‘Hastings is white and middle class — what is your message for my community?’”

THE 'BROKAW EFFECT’
Kuhn is “a unique kid who’s 18 going on 30,” says Gerard Marciano, an English and drama teacher who serves as faculty adviser. Marciano explains the origin of this totally extracurricular activity. “The superintendent — Jay Russell — approached me a few years ago and asked if I’d be interested in some kind of school news program. Paul Hammons [a Hastings resident and a producer with “NBC Nightly News”] told me to get a couple of kids together and he’d put them on the set of Tom Brokaw’s show to get interest up. I took six or seven kids down with an ad hoc group of stories. Paul directed and filmed it on Brokaw’s set. Our jaws dropped — he was treating kids like celebrities! It all got started because of Paul.

“After that, he met us a couple of Thursday nights in the library, sort of casual but special. He’s an incredible facilitator. This is the Hastings style — a professional in the community reaching out to kids. I really love that about Hastings. I felt a tremendous responsibility to make this work. Once the kids saw themselves on TV on the local channel, it took off.”

Mandel was among the first to get involved. He started taping high school news three years ago — Homecoming, band concerts, and the like. Marciano calls him “the idealized version of a great camera guy — he doesn’t want the limelight, but he is extremely confident and wants things done his way. Technically, he knows everything there is.”

Mandel also owns everything he needs to take the show from interview to broadcast-ready tape: camera, sound equipment, heavy-duty computer, and high-end video-editing program, Final Cut Pro. The school district provides only a microphone and kickstand (tripod), Kuhn says. There is also a computer he could use, Mandel notes, but only during the day (whereas he often works until 4 a.m.). The school’s Audio-Visual Department does have two video cameras and a lavalier or two, Marciano says, but he’s not sure of the quality, and checking them out is cumbersome. There is no studio at the school and no space for one. “I don’t know what we’d do without Justin’s equipment,” he adds.

It’s still a very small “club,” though. There are two cameramen in addition to Mandel, and one of them — Charles Stern — is also graduating this month. The other, junior Andrew Tergis, and Kate Bolger, a junior who does some correspondent work and introduces some of the shows, are the only carryovers.

“I’m going to miss Eric and Justin terribly,” Marciano says. “One is a passionate cameraman, the other is a talented and determined interviewer. I was just along for the ride. I don’t know what’s going to happen to the show. I wish we had a department so we could build something.”

GOING WITH 'GOOD ENERGY’
“Some people watch sports or ESPN constantly,” Kuhn says, “but for Justin and me, our passion is news, politics, CNN. Katie Couric is the pinup on my wall, not Michael Jordan. There’s nothing like a live TV shoot, or even a live TV broadcast. When he’s ready to shoot, Freddie Dorn says, ‘Good energy! Let’s make TV!’ Justin and I have taken that as our slogan — we can’t stop saying that. Just to show you what no lives we have: We imitate Cristiana Amanpour’s voice; I have NBC’s theme music on my iPod; I get up early to hear the news.

“The heart and soul of democracy is to get fair news,” Kuhn believes. He worries that the pressure of broadcast ratings sometimes interferes with news values, and that neither network nor cable news covers issues in depth. “Take the filibuster debate,” he says. “‘Filibuster/nuclear option’ — that’s the sound bite. But the real issue is the judges — why are they being filibustered? The judges’ records aren’t broadcast, because that’s not a sound bite — that’s a novel.”

Kuhn also writes for the school newspaper and has his own blog, yet he is not at all tempted to choose the more issue-oriented medium. “There’s not as much excitement [in print journalism] as when Brian Williams comes in to cover a presidential debate five minutes before it starts. That’s you, you’re on! I love the excitement.” His dream job, he says, “is to be the next Tim Russert.”

Mandel, whose primary interest is film, will attend the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California this fall. “I’m thinking about a minor in journalism at USC, since their journalism school is supposed to be fantastic as well, and I am getting more and more intrigued [with television news],” he says.

Kuhn, who is headed for Hamilton College in upstate New York, has been advised not to major in journalism, but “in something you are passionate about. Business and economics are interesting, but my big interest is politics.”

But first comes the summer of 2005. “We’ve been asked by Town Supervisor Paul Feiner to help create a news show for all of Greenburgh,” Kuhn says. “We met with him last night to talk about getting a Greenburgh network up.”