Journalism Students Partner with CBS to Gain Hands-On News Experience

A core part of an Emerson College education is hands-on experience in one’s chosen field—and for many Journalism students, the Campus Lens project perfectly embodies that spirit.

The project is a collaboration between WBZ-TV (CBS Boston) and Emerson’s Broadcast Journalism Capstone course, taught by Journalist-in-Residence Angela Anderson-Connolly. The project began after WBZ-TV producers reached out to the Emerson Journalism Department looking for students’ takes on different issues, and for students to get hands-on training in the industry. 

“We were looking for student perspectives on things affecting them,” said WBZ producer Felicity Otterbein. “Students have different ideas, backgrounds, and opinions, and it made sense to us to listen to them and give them a platform on a much broader scale.” 

Each episode is filmed in Emerson’s Journalism Production Center and is nearly entirely student-run, whether directors, floor managers, audio technicians, and studio crew. 

“We’re meeting students where they’re at and showing what they’re getting into once they leave the school,” Otterbein said. “It’s giving them a chance to do every job that there is right now in a news station.”

So far, the class produced four segments, and one aired exclusively on CBS. The 15-minute segment—anchored by Faith Pinnow ’25 and produced by Callie Krosin ’25— tackles topics such as artificial intelligence, diversity programs, student side hustles, and affordable housing. 

The segment contains five stories anchored by Pinnow, and each story has a news package produced by Broadcast Journalism Capstone students. Each Campus Lens has a different student producer. Sabrina Lin ’25 produced her first segment, and the fourth edition of Campus Lens on April 17. 

“I feel like it’s more flexible,” Lin said of producing Campus Lens. “They don’t have specific topics, but you have to be more professional and more sensitive, and more aware of the running order.” 

Pinnow anchors the newscast for every show, and said she enjoys working with someone new each time.

“Everyone’s style is different, even though it’s the same station,” Pinnow said. “It’s an exciting professional experience. The stakes are higher and it’s different than anything we’ve done before.”

Journalism Department Chair Lu Ann Reeb was an executive producer at WBZ-TV for 12 years, making the collaboration extra special. 

“Emerson students are producing and reporting all original stories important to college students in the Campus Lens newscast,” Reeb said. “What could be better for Emerson journalism students to have their original campus stories seen streaming on cbsboston.com and WBZ’s YouTube Channel?”

Anderson-Connolly said the students are held to a high standard, whether in the classroom or on WBZ. 

“It’s still the same standard, they should always be at that [professional] level,” Anderson-Connolly said. 

The students have had to hone their broadcast writing skills for the CBS studio. While CBS ultimately has editorial control, the station and the class have an open dialogue. Otterbein said students chose relevant and topical headlines for the show. 

“We’re really impressed so far with what we’ve seen,” Otterbein said. “I’m excited to see what else they have to share with us.”