Q: What made you want to revive The Season?
A: I’ve always had a passion for sports and when I got to middle school I started taking journalism classes. A high school student came to talk to us about her work on The Season and it really inspired me to want to do it myself. I got to high school and gave it a shot. It became something that I really loved doing so I’ve continued making episodes for the past two years. My older brother, Ross Shows, helped me get started because he had some previous sports journalism experience. He guided me through the editing process and helped me to create my own episodes.
Q: How long does it normally take you to complete a full episode of The Season?
A: It varies depending on what sport I’m making an episode for. I can normally finish football episodes pretty fast, about a week. I like doing them weekly so the episodes can stay relevant. Basketball and baseball usually take longer because I like to find a deeper story. Based on game schedules I’ll usually have an episode finished in two or three weeks. It’s also a lot easier to post baseball and basketball episodes every couple of weeks and they are still relevant.
Q: What does your preparation for an episode look like?
A: I start by trying to find a story before I begin filming. I look for one or two players to highlight by looking for what makes them stand out, things like a challenge they’ve faced or sometimes an award they’ve received. Then I check the schedule for the sport I’m covering and pick the game or games that I want to cover and that would match up with the story. After I have a plan for an episode I start looking for people to help me film. Most of the time Howard Hyneman helps me film but sometimes I find some extra people that want to help out.
Q: How do you handle doing so much of The Season by yourself?
I try to prioritize my free time as much as possible. When I have any extra time I work on my sports productions. Balancing my school work can be a little challenging but I always find a way to make it work. Honestly, I’ve always been a pretty independent worker so it’s not hard and even enjoyable for me to create episodes with little help from others. I like the creative freedom of working on it by myself.
Q: What opportunities have you gained from making The Season?
Back in December, I was given the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., with our school’s basketball teams. It was really exciting to have that experience in our nation’s Capitol. I am also going to attend the Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition, I have recently been nominated for the Southeast Student Production Awards which is presented by the Emmy Awards. I was nominated in two different categories and I’m really excited to see what the future has for me and my journalistic work.
