2019 Sponsor(s)
Bleecker Chevrolet
What is Media Arts?
First things first. The Media Arts Department is the source of this online newspaper, specifically the journalistic portion.
The purpose of the Dunn PAL Media Arts Program is to educate students on facets that directly deal with modern media production. These include, but are not limited to, photo and video, radio broadcasting, journalism, and operating editing software. Depending on what each individual student is particularly interested in, this program offers a variety of opportunities.
Photo, video, and editing
In Media Arts, students may learn how to proficiently use and maintain picture cameras and video cameras, as well as how to edit the footage they capture on video. These photos and videos are then uploaded to our social media channels, mainly YouTube and Facebook, for followers to view. Every Friday, the students host our PAL news show, “Wildcat Weekly”, which is advertised through our Facebook page as a link to the YouTube channel.
Radio Broadcasting
The Media Arts Program also features an in-house internet radio station, “WPAL – The Prowl”. The station is directly linked to our website’s front page.
Here, students will learn how to conduct themselves live on-air and how to run a radio show. They will create and rehearse their own content to be broadcast for site visitors to hear. Radio gives Media Arts students a chance to express their personalities without the fear that sometimes accompanies being in front of a camera.
Writing/Journalism
Students can also produce their own stories and news articles through www.youthnews.org. Here, the writers of the program post Dunn PAL and community news, as well as personal articles. Their content is directly posted to Dunn PAL’s Facebook page for the community to read. These stories offer first-hand insight behind the scenes of the Media Arts Program, as well as the after-school program. The online newspaper also allows for development of writing skills and grammar usage.
In addition to the aforementioned website, a few of our writers are featured in the Daily Record newspaper (mydailyrecord.com) in Dunn. The “PAL Perspective” column in the paper shines a light on PAL news and the featured authors. This gives the students a chance to be published writers and reach a larger audience at the same time.
PAL & Community Involvement
Within the PAL after-school program, the Media Arts team records and documents every event and program that the PAL either hosts or is involved with. These include the Fall Festival, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Black History Month, and Easter programs, and the Valentine’s Day dance, among others. Members also accompany their fellow students on field trips during the school-year and especially throughout the summer program, which runs from June to August. Students will sometimes follow the Dunn PAL basketball teams to in-state and out-of-state tournaments during their season, which typically runs from March through June. Many media team members are also Youth Leadership Council members, and travel to the National PAL Youth Mentoring Summit every year.
In addition to PAL events, the media team also covers community events. The Dunn and Erwin Christmas parades, National Night Out, and the Dunn Business-fest are a few annual events that the PAL is involved with. PAL Media Arts students can be seen at these functions recording and taking pictures for our social media channels.
