Television broadcasting is a line of work that is difficult to break into, but students who wish to one day work in the field now have an oppurtunity to have their first, real hands-on experience by working on “Eye on GCC,” a show about Glendale College life.

Broadcast journalism students, or students who are interested in videography or editing, get an oppurtunity to create their own shows by enrolling in Journalism 106 or 116. By joining the class, students get to collaborate with each other to shoot and edit their own show, “Eye on GCC.”

“It may be stressful at times but it gives me a good idea of what I am going to experience in the outside world,” said Thaddeus Jaworsky, one of the student editors.

“Eye on GCC,” which premiered in February and airs on channel 15 on Charter Digital Cable, is a program that informs students and faculty members about important events or changes that might directly affect them.

Two broadcast students act as the set anchors for the news portion of the show. Since “Eye on GCC” only airs six episodes a semester, concerns are raised about having timeliness.

“We try to focus more on timelessness stories instead of old news,” said Broadcast Journalism Professor Bette Finlayson. “We do many features instead.”

Along with news, other segments like sports and entertainment, as well as stories about Glendale and neighboring cities Burbank and Pasadena, fill in the rest of the show to cover everything else that has to do with GCC.

The most recent project that was completed was the “Glendale Idol” program. “Glendale Idol” is an event in which aspiring singers see if they have the talent to become a real superstar.

Finlayson, who is also the producer for “Eye on GCC,” is proud of the work her students have accomplished. “They usually do a good job,” she said.

Before any actual shooting is done, Finlayson hands out packages or assignments to reporters. To prepare them, Finlayson often practices role-reversal with her reporters to let them experience how it feels like to be an interviewee.

After all the pre-shooting stages are completed, the production moves onto its next step which is shooting the news segment with the anchors inside a small studio on campus, in San Gabriel 334; other stories take place on location. In the studio there are three professional high quality news cameras which are used to shoot the anchors.

In another room down the hall, the editors watch what is being recorded on different screens that show different angles. After entering the studio and seeing all the microphones, cameras and monitors being used to produce “Eye on GCC,” one could forget that they are still on a college campus. The students have an extensive knowledge of the equipment.

After all the shooting is done, production moves to its editing stage. All footage is edited in the same studio in which the show is shot with the necessary editing equipment or sometimes the editors take the footage home to work on it. This equipment ranges from high-quality cameras to sound recording and video editing equipment.

One of the editors of “Eye on GCC” and “Gateways to Glendale College,” Scott Stalnaker said, “We have a lot of top-quality equipment to try to produce the best looking program we can so people can have a good impression of GCC.” After the long process of editing, the end result is not only a show created entirely by students, but one in which students have been able to get a good experience from also get a good experience, according to Finlayson.

“My primary goal is to expose the students work in the best possible way so that they can get a really good experience and tape of their work,” said Finlayson. Two of Finlayson’s students moved on to get jobs at the radio station Power 106.

Both programs air Thursday nights between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and also on Saturdays at noon on Channel 15 on Charter Cable.