TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M University (FAMU) TV-20 spring 2013 anchor team features four women from various regions, an international student and a 4.0 scholar, who bring a wealth of talent to the live student-run newscast. News 20 at Five will air Monday through Thursday beginning Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. on Comcast 20 and on the web at www.FAMUTVNews.com.
FAMU-TV 20 is an educational access channel operated by the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. It reaches more than 80,000 households.
The anchors are broadcast journalism students Tanya Glover and Valeria Sistrunk (co-anchors on the main news desk), Samone Davis (sports) and LaCrai Mitchell (weather).
Glover, a native of San Diego, Calif., aspires to be a reporter/anchor in her home state. She said from the very first moment she walked into the “J-School” she knew it was where she belonged and has embraced every opportunity offered. She was an Old School & R&B radio personality for FAMU’s student radio station 90.5-FM The Flava Station. She has also served as deputy lifestyles editor of The Famuan, camera operator for FAMU TV-20 and a graphic designer for campus organizations and businesses. Glover has interned with The HBCU Digest, the FAMU Office of Communications, WCTV Eyewitness News and WTXL ABC 27. She is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“I knew from the moment I learned there was a student-produced newscast that I wanted to be the anchor,” she said. “I was just waiting for the moment to prove to myself and to my professors that I belonged in that chair.”
The other co-anchor, Sistrunk, a fourth-year broadcast journalism student from Fayetteville, Ga., brings a passion for reporting and writing to the news team. She said her internships have prepared her for her role as co-anchor for News 20 at Five. She has interned at both WCTV Eyewitness News and WTXL ABC 27, where she shadowed experienced anchors to hone her skills. Sistrunk aspires to become a news anchor in a major market. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“Anchoring for News 20 at Five is something I've always wanted to do since I came to FAMU,” she said. “I'm so thrilled to have this wonderful opportunity.”
Davis, a transfer student from Palm Beach Atlantic University, is a native of Freeport, Bahamas. At her previous school, she had the opportunity to host her own radio segment on the Sailfish Radio Network called Flava in Your Air. In addition, she served as an executive producer for a documentary filmed in the Bahamas titled The History of Grand Bahamas. Davis appeared as a supporting actress in a Web series called Girl with the Tattoo, which placed in the top 10 in a YouTube competition for an urban Web series. She has interned at WTXL ABC 27, where she was the anchor for the intern magazine show. Upon graduation, Davis aspires to attend the University of Miami for graduate school in addition to becoming a sports and entertainment anchor. She is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society for journalism.
“I studied print journalism for two ½ years there,” she said. “It wasn't until I came to FAMU and examined the J-School that I wanted to switch over into broadcast. Before I was even accepted, I told myself, ‘I will not leave this school until I get my chance to be on that set.
“One year later, I got the position as sports anchor. That is nothing but the work of God,’” said the senior broadcast journalism student.
Mitchell, a Tallahassee native, has excelled in her three semesters at FAMU. As a freshman, she served as one of the producers for the 2012 Paradigm News Magazine Show and played an integral role in the production of the 2011 FAMU Homecoming Television Special that she co-produced the following year. She was also one of the students selected to participate in the 2012 National Association of Black Journalists Multimedia Short Course hosted by FAMU, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Mitchell aspires to become a CNN anchor, international correspondent and producer upon graduation.
“I feel extremely blessed, and I thank God for this awesome opportunity to serve as a member of the award-winning FAMU News 20 at Five team,” Mitchell said.
The newscast has been a staple among the FAMU TV-20 offerings. Its popularity has garnered opportunities for students and has contributed to the exposure of the program.
“This live newscast is really opening doors for our students,” said Leonard Horton, news director for News 20 at Five. “In the five years we’ve done live news, this newscast has become a major recruitment tool for the FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. We get so many tour groups with students ranging from all ages coming to view our live broadcasts and observe our post meetings.”
Students enrolled in the advanced TV news course will also produce a live webcast airing Fridays at 12:30 p.m. In addition, News 20 at Five will post daily news updates via Twitter at www.twitter.com/news20at5.
The FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communication was founded in 1982. Its Division of Journalism was the first journalism program at a historically black university to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. SJGC offers degrees in journalism, public relations and graphic design.
