THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502020042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE MARINO, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
IF YOU'RE AFRAID of flying, the employees of American Bald Eagle Airlines want to calm your fears. Just remember some of their ``helpful'' travel tips:
What goes up must come down.
Most of our flights land within 1 mile of the runway.
If we lose your luggage, we'll forward it to the coroner.
These and other off-the-wall sketches will be presented in ``TV-X,'' a half-hour variety show written and produced at Cox Cable in Norfolk. It will air on Channel 11 at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The cast and crew, known as Tuesday Night Productions, spent endless nights writing scripts, operating expensive cameras, running lights and editing video.
There is one unusual thing about the crew: All the members are local high school students. Their company is part of Junior Achievement, a nationwide organization that teaches teenagers about business by having them run businesses. TNP's members have an elected board of directors, meet regularly, receive salaries and own stock.
But TNP is different from other JA companies that make and sell products like CD cabinets. TNP did not make a physical product to sell. This is why the show was titled ``TV-X,'' which stands for ``experimental TV.'' It is the first JA company to make a TV show.
``Aside from selling things like other companies do, we also get to be on TV,'' said TNP member Michael Maraghy, a senior at Bayside High School.
To bring in revenue, company members sold stock and advertising time. Several local businesses purchased commercial time, which costs $150 for a 30-second spot and $250 for a 60-second spot. The company pulled in about $500 total.
The money will pay members' salaries and wages and cover production costs. The remaining funds will be paid out to stockholders and Junior Achievement of Hampton Roads.
TNP worked in conjunction with Cox Cable Channel 11. The company members met every Tuesday night for 15 weeks, hence the company name.
``TV-X'' has a comedy/newsmagazine format. The comedy portion of the show features a ``Saturday Night Live''-type sketches. It follows a fake TV news format called the ``Nightly Update,'' complete with unusual stories and crazed guests. There are also several parody commercials on everything from plane crashes to a new line of escape vehicles by O.J. Simpson.
The show also covers community issues, such as teens volunteering at the Tidewater AIDS Task Force.
Maury High School senior Stanley Coleman was grateful for the training. ``It helps us learn how a TV show is run, and all the hard work it takes,'' he said.
TNP members got guidance from Cox employees Wes Neal and Dean Stevens. Neal, a marketing manager from Cox Fibernet, helped with the advertising strategies and managing the company. Stevens, a producer/director for Cox Cable, helped with the production of ``TV-X''.
``People are always saying that the schools aren't producing good kids,'' Neal said. ``The kids in this company proved that wrong. They are all very talented.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
GARY C. KNAPP
Christina Lee, 15, operates a camera during the taping of ``TV-X''
in a studio at Cox Cable. The show will air Tuesday night at 8.
Joe Marino is a senior at Bayside High School
Graphic
THE STUDENTS
Students producing the show include:
President: Maury senior Stanley Coleman, 18
Vice president of marketing: Bayside senior Joe Marino, 17
Vice president of production: Maury junior Christina Lee, 16
Vice president of human resources: Deep Creek junior Chrissy
Covington, 17
Vice president of finance: Great Bridge junior Duron Bell, 16
Bayside sophomore Melanie Maraghy, 15
Bayside senior Michael Maraghy, 17
Maury sophomore Jeffrey Ferguson, 16
If you would like to become a member of a JA company, call
858-3800.
by CNB