Winning Proposal Gives GHS-TV Students Their Own Show

Four students from Germantown High School's award-winning television station just earned themselves an even larger audience. GHS-TV seniors Sydney Armstrong, Sean Byrne, Kaif Gilani and Maclean Mayers won Shelby County School's district-wide video contest Show Us Awesome.

Students from all over the system entered for a chance at their own show that would air on Comcast C19 and on the system's online media site, as well as be publicized through SCS' many other channels of social media and communications.

The GHS-TV quartet will start production soon on Around the Block, a monthly show that will highlight subjects impacting today's students. During a recent production meeting, talks centered on including as many field segments as possible. The students seemed eager to branch out to new communities and to make this show a truly unique addition to the ones already being produced by GHS-TV students.

"I think this is a great way to get the entire community excited about the many great things happening around town," said Byrne. "We'll focus on our school system, but we also want to showcase the pride so many people have in Memphis."

Established in 1982, GHS-TV is a community television station operated by the students of Germantown High School. GHS-TV is seen online at ghstv.org and its programming airs in the Memphis area on Comcast C19 and throughout the region on ION Media. GHS-TV serves as a model facility that continues to produce original programming, inform citizens and educate young people interested in telecommunications careers. It has been named the nation’s best access station an unprecedented 11 times by the Alliance for Community Media. Its students have won over 145 Hometown Video Awards, 44 regional “Student Emmys” and 2 national “Student Emmys.” For more information on GHS-TV visit ghstv.org. You can follow GHS-TV on Facebook and Twitter (@ghstv).

Allison Long is the executive producer for GHS-TV.  Ted Beasley is the senior producer. Bobby Ramsay serves as the studio supervisor. Matt Sloan is the SCS videographer. Ashleigh Williams and Catie Broadwater are supervising producers. Catherine Cohen is the business manager. 

Alum & Emmy winner Matt Sloan newest addition to GHS-TV Staff

        GHS-TV welcomes a familiar face back into its family. GHS class of 2011 graduate Matt Sloan has joined the GHS-TV staff as an Audio/Video Production Technician. A recent graduate of Southern Illinois University he is excited to come back to his roots.

     “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to come back and give back to the fine arts department that has taught me so much.” said Sloan.

     Sloan’s will teach students creative and technical skills, serve as a supervisor for TV programs and produce content for both GHS-TV and Shelby County Schools. Sloan said he is looking forward to sharing his TV knowledge with the students. He earned a degree in Radio, Television and Digital Media for SIU. During his time there, he  became the executive producer of alt.news 26:46, for which he won a college television Emmy award for “Best Magazine Style Program.”

     Sloan was heavily involved with GHS-TV as a student. Along with being general manager of the studio, he directed Live Coverage 2010 Germantown Festival and Election Night 2010 along with monthly tapings of Crosstalk and Wake Up, Germantown!. Sloan is the only GHS-TV student to win the Jim McKay Memorial Scholarship, which is a national honor given each year by the Emmy organization. He also performed in the Poplar Pike Playhouse productions The Secret Garden, The Farnsworth Invention, Parade, The Beaux' Stratagem, Curtains, Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 

     He is not the first Mr. Sloan that has worked at GHS-TV. His father, Paul Sloan, is a 1981 alumni who also came back to teach at GHS-TV. Sloan’s father then went on to become the Creative Service Director at the Fox affiliate in Memphis. He currently serves in that same role for the Fox affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona.

     Faculty members and students are looking forward to having Matt Sloan on board with both GHS-TV and the Poplar Pike Playhouse.

     “I’ve heard so many great things about Mr. Sloan here as a student,” current senior Ben Taylor said. “I’m excited to for the opportunity to work with him at GHS-TV.

Story By Taylor Shennett