Madison High School offers a Broadcast Journalism class taught by Jeff Coviello and Lisa DiTuro, which aims to help foster a love of journalism and all things media in their students. The students spend the year working through units of producing live shows, hosting podcasts, and writing articles that are published on Dodger Media, to teach them what it is like to work in the industry.
When talking to Coviello and DiTuro, both shared how important their partnership is to keep the course fun and engaging. Coviello also explained that the course runs so smoothly because he specializes in the video production aspects, while DiTuro is very skilled in the writing portion of the class.
Both Coviello and DiTuro, shared that one of the most important parts of the course is having hands on experiences, so when fellow Madison resident Eric Hall, an executive producer at CNN, told her about an opportunity to have their class go and talk with people at a real news station and view how the set works live during an actual taping, they knew that it was a chance that couldn’t be passed up. So, this past Monday, April, 13 of 2026, the class headed to NYC to get a taste of the industry.
The day started with a tour of the control room, giving the kids a chance to learn about how a news station makes a real show work. There were so many screens to look at, the kids became very intrigued and were surprised to learn how much goes into a single segment. After this exploration of the control room the students were taken into the studio to meet John Berman and Harry Enten, before watching them do a segment about Eric Swalwell’s resignation.
After watching the live show, the students got to explore the set of NewsNight with Abby Phillips. John Burman and Kate Bolduan soon joined the group who got to have a Q and A with Burman and Bolduan. The kids took advantage of this opportunity and were very curious about the daily schedule of a news anchor. After this interview the group headed upstairs to a conference room where they got to talk to Harry Enten. Enten’s large personality entertained the group and he gave very good advice about following their passions and always being yourself. Enten had to head back to work, so the group got to talk to three executive producers and understand what goes on behind the scenes of such a large company. They shared advice about what their specific jobs entail and how to succeed in a position like theirs.
The trip was a great experience and the group was very grateful for the opportunity. Coviello and DiTuro hope that they will be able to bring the future classes back to continue to pass on this wonderful experience.