Visitors to the Bison TV production room this semester might see juniors Ryan Marmaros and Aden Stern working on the development of their new show, Running with the Herd.

“We [plan to cover] every major achievement related to sports, as well as the progress of each team, and we will be doing it in a way that hopefully makes the viewers more interested,” Stern said.

“We hope to keep people informed, which, in turn, will cause students to become more involved as fans and followers of the Bison athletic teams,” Marmaros said. “I think student athletes will appreciate that their accomplishments are being reported and acknowledged.”

Increasing student interest in Bison sports teams was also a goal.

“This will be a new and interesting way to get news out to students. I feel like many students would rather be watching it than reading it,” Marmaros continued.

Broadcast teacher Kevin Houchins said Marmaros and Stern are “newbies” to broadcast, as neither of the two have taken one of his video production classes.

In the first episode, they interviewed the football team’s starting quarterback, sophomore Ben Connor.

“It was really cool to be on the set in front of the camera,” he said. “It’s nice to give your perspective directly, rather than someone else [filtering it].”

Houchins sees a lot of value in the show, too.

“I think this is a great opportunity for Aden and Ryan to grow in their broadcasting skills,” he said. “I want to highlight our athletes’ achievements. Hopefully, it will encourage more students to participate when they see the success their classmates are having.”

A great deal of effort is put into the show, Houchins explained.

“Since I don’t have Aden and Ryan in class, it’s a bit difficult to work around all of our schedules,” he said. “For them, asking the right questions is an extremely important skill to have. In reporting and broadcasting, asking the right questions has a major impact.”

He also said that the students working with this show will develop a lot of skills and have something significant to use when crafting a college resume.

That applies directly to Stern, who hopes to pursue a career in broadcast journalism.

“I am improving my skills with this show, and I want to work with stuff like this in college as well. It’s jump-starting my motivation and interest for the future,” he said.

Of course, there has only been one show so far.

“I was sort of the ‘guinea pig’ of their show,” Connor said. “For future shows, if [Marmaros and Stern] are able to continue to ask the best questions possible, then everything will flow very well.”

That being said, viewers should expect big developments in the near future, Marmaros said.

“The program is aired on Channel 22 and will be available to view on the [Beachwood City Schools] website,” Marmaros added. “We hope to expand outside of basic reports for special features on individual stories or features, as well as full team previews before the winter and spring seasons.”

Running With the Herd volume 1.2.mov