It is an exciting time at one of Beverly’s premier programs. KBEV is under new leadership. After almost 20 years with Romeo Carey at the helm, new teacher Kyle Newman brings fresh ideas and a new perspective to the program. While all of us students interact with KBEV through the Norman News daily, we will now have broader ways to interface with its content.
A significant focus of KBEV’s direction under this new leadership is expanding the program to highlight and collaborate with the other programs in the school. The expansion of the program is underway and will soon offer many opportunities for students.
During an interview, Newman emphasized the importance of respecting legacy while instilling new traditions and practices. “I have to instill a different mindset in people, and also respect what came before”. He wants to expand KBEV’s reach by creating more school-related production and activities, which he hopes will increase student engagement.
“Hopefully, this year, football will not just be… two cameras pointing at the game. We’re gonna have a pre-show, a halftime thing, a post-game, and we have an app coming, so it’ll be in more immediate delivery,” Newman said.
Senior Jason Maybaum has been participating in KBEV since middle school through the GATE Program, and has been a working actor for many years.
Surprisingly, he shared, “My heart is really behind the camera. I mean, obviously, since I was seven years old, I’ve been an actor in front of the camera. But meeting different cast and crew, I’ve learned a lot about all the different jobs you can do behind the camera, and it really interested me. So I’d say probably behind the camera”.
What came through loud and clear when interviewing students in KBEV was the sense of community, camaraderie and teamwork they share in this program.,
Maybaum said, “A specific thing that I love about KBEV is the students. It’s a student-run station. People want to learn, people are eager to do projects and do productions, and no one sees it as just a class or a chore. We love it, and I love it and I look forward to it when I come into school every day”.
Newman’s approach for KBEV is forward-thinking: “I want to increase people’s ability to create content, sharpen their skills [and] learn new skills…Everyone’s so hungry to shoot, but they have to learn…to plan before you can shoot. So we’re trying to imbue everything with those basics. Also, on the macro level, we have a new studio that’s coming soon. It’s in the middle of construction, so I’ll be overseeing that from the ground up. Hopefully,[we’ll be] doing more collaborations with other departments, like journalism. Audio production created our new theme song.”
There is a real sense of community within KBEV. There are numerous facets to the program and plenty of room to explore various ideas and interests. There truly is something for everyone.
As freshman Benjamin Monavari explained, “It’s really interesting because a lot of people have different perspectives on this class and you just get a taste of each one… It’s pretty interesting learning… the techniques and the basics of everything”.
KBEV is growing in exciting ways with a new teacher, expanded programs and a new studio on the way. Not only will the school and the community have greater access to KBEV content, but many programs throughout the school will also have opportunities to collaborate with KBEV in creating that content. With journalism and KBEV exploring partnership possibilities, the behind-the-scenes of our next article could become the next story on KBEV. Stay tuned…go Normans!
