UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A timely television program focusing on the refugee crisis in Greece, which was produced by Penn State students, will air at 7 p.m. June 28 on WFMZ-TV’s Retro TV.
“The Journey” was produced with the work of 18 Penn State students in an international reporting class who traveled to Greece for 10 days earlier this year. The travel portion of the class complements a full semester of classroom activities.
This year, the early March trip coincided with refugees flooding into Greece from the Middle East and the Penn State student journalists were on hand to document those stories. They reported from Athens and also from the island of Lesbos, a key arrival point for refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and countries in Africa.
“This is the best real-world experience these student journalists could ever get. They reported from the front line of a world crisis and had to overcome challenges in the field, including language barriers, logistics issues and deadline pressure,” said Steve Kraycik, director of student television and online operations in the College of Communications at Penn State.
Retro TV is available over the air at 69.4, on Service Electric Cable Channel 108 and on RCN Channel 27. WFMZ-TV serves eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.
The Penn State students who created the TV show have a history of producing award-winning, high-quality work. Several students responsible for “The Journey” also contribute to “Centre County Report,” a weekly newscast that has been honored by the Broadcast Education Association and the College Television Awards as the nation’s best student newscast with regularity in recent years.
"The Journey" is available online and has aired on Campus Cable and WPSU-TV. Having the program picked up by an outlet beyond their reach is a first, though.