Away from schools, Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting stays on air

Updated Thursday, April 30

Just as the Central High School District’s prolonged school closure began on March 16, the students in the Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting program sprang into action.

During the first weekend of the shutdown, students met independently to write, shoot and edit their weekly shows, “Morning Announcements” and “Midweek Update.” As the district shifted to remote learning, the Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting team stayed on the air, continuing to provide moments of levity amid the pandemic.

The students publish daily reports on their YouTube page, BMBroadcasting, offering local community updates and interviews with fellow students, business owners and frontline workers. The weekly content — which also aims for laughs, such as the “How Not to Annoy Your Parents in a Pandemic” video — are posted seven days a week by a team of roughly 35 students, according to instructor Stuart Stein.

“It’s all the kids — they did it on their own,” Stein said of BMB’s quick transfer to a digital-only format. “Our hope in continuing to stay on the air was to create some sense of normalcy for our kids, and we hope we’re providing some normalcy for the community that watches our broadcasts.”

During weekly Zoom meetings, instructors distribute assignments that adhere to a strict social distancing policy. Assignments are split up among production teams, consisting of one upperclassman and one underclassman, who then have one week to produce their respective segments for the shows.

Most of BMB’s recent videos highlight how the community has been coping with the coronavirus pandemic. Rocco Law, a senior and the BMB sports director, has conducted several interviews with athletes who have all lost sporting opportunities this year.

“A lot of students are going through a rough time, and we should share that,” Law said. “The video was something for everyone to see — to show the athletes what they’ve done [over] the last four years meant something.”

Freshman Haley Hepworth, a host of the daily reports, said working remotely has even given her “more motivation,” she said, despite lacking access to the school’s equipment and editing software. “We get to show people what the community is doing and give back to people who are helping others,” she said.

“It’s something to look forward to,” said Luke Melfa, a BMB host. “The amount of work put in [by students] is inspiring, and to see the videos come to fruition is really cool — even though we’re not in the studio like we’d normally be.”

“I thought that the idea of closing wasn’t even in the realm of possibility” in early March, said Louis Saraceni, a junior in the program, “and even if we did, it would be for a week at the absolute maximum. So, I thought it would be a fun idea to try to record a ‘Midweek Update’ from home.”

“We try to keep stories relevant to the local community,” Stein added. “We also wanted the kids reporting from their own homes so other kids and adults around the district can get a window into what life is like for kids under quarantine. They’re documenting their own moment in history.”

BMB — which is in its fourth year and housed at Wellington C. Mepham High School — has also received nods for several awards. The group’s trip to the School Television Network’s convention in Washington, D.C., in early March was canceled, but STN is still dolling out awards — three BMB videos are nominated. “How Not to Annoy Your Parents in a Pandemic” has also been selected for the NYC Underground Online Comedy Festival.

“What we’re doing is for everyone in the community,” Law said. “We’re able to show what Bellmore-Merrick is really able to do.”

For more on BMB, follow their Instagram or Twitter, @BM_Broadcasting.