Kristen Graham | Definitely ready for prime time

There were just four minutes left until 8:08 a.m., and the race was on.

The teleprompter needed to be queued, the microphones had to be checked, and the anchors needed to run through their scripts.

"It's early - we're so together today! Everyone's on set," sportscaster Sara Gladney shouted, secure in the knowledge that when opening credits rolled, everything would be in place.

The crew of Good Morning

'Stoga, Conestoga High's morning news show, are pros at last-minute miracles. It's a hallmark of the school's award-winning television production and scholastic broadcasting program. Conestoga is one of a number of schools in the region - such as Souderton and North Penn in Montgomery County, and Clearview Regional in Gloucester County - that boast thriving student television stations.

Take Conestoga seniors Ben DiCandilo and Andrew Husick and sophomore Henry Rome. The students recently took home national honors, winning prizes from the media organization Student Television Network for their work.

They say their school's television-production program, which features eight separate classes, 240 students and five staffers, has set apart their high-school experience.

"It feels good to put out a product that is successful and people actually watch," said DiCandilo.

In addition to the daily morning announcements show, Conestoga students also produce public-service announcements, commercials, special news packages, and even a talk show. The broadcasts go out to an audience of 37,000 viewers on the district's educational access station.

The award winners say they didn't set out for recognition. DiCandilo and Husick shared a second-place prize for a live-to-tape broadcast from a Conestoga football game. Rome received honorable mention for a documentary he produced about a mosaic project at New Eagle Elementary School.

DiCandilo and Husick, who work as producer and weatherman for Good Morning 'Stoga, respectively, remember vividly the cold day they lugged equipment up narrow bleachers to shoot a Conestoga-Marple Newtown football game. They brought mixing equipment, televisions, and four cameras with them in preparation for the game.

"We put together the broadcast right there so that when we came back across the street, we could put it on the air," Husick said. "We had all sorts of different camera angles, and close-up shots and commentary."

Rome, who works on audio and as technical director for the morning show, is particularly jazzed about the equipment at his disposal.

"We have a very high-tech studio and it allows us to do whatever kind of shows we want. It gives us options; for sports, we can do instant replay, mike up down on the field and hear what the players are saying. We can tape cameras to the backboards in basketball," said Rome.

Back in the main TV studio on a recent morning, it was organized chaos as the countdown to Good Morning 'Stoga continued. Some of the talent was over by the mirror, applying makeup. Others were reading scripts and shouting out comments.

Everyone has a job on the show, from anchor to tape jammer to tech director. Students rotate roles, so each gets to work on different aspects of the broadcast.

Senior Mike Schon is floor director, a key player who's responsible for microphones and cameras. Schon communicates with the talent during the broadcast and makes sure things are flowing smoothly. He's looking into a career in communications and has already worked at two television stations.

"It's kind of stressful, but you get good life skills. You learn to turn on a dime, and figure things out quickly," Schon said of his student broadcasting experience.

Gladney, a senior and one of the sportscasters, spends summers in broadcasting camp and will pursue a career in the field.

She revels in the final hectic minutes leading up to a show.

"A lot of time, something's going wrong and we're trying to fix it. We have problems with the teleprompters, we have problems with the mike. I absolutely love it," Gladney said.

At 8:08 precisely, the opening - new for this broadcast - was cued and Good Morning 'Stoga was live. Anchors Emily Stewart and Dan McKinney laughed at the Brady Bunch-themed opening, with photos of the on-air talent popping up in nine separate squares.

But as soon as the cameras were back on Stewart and McKinney, it was down to business, with news about a new play, an art-supplies drive and more, plus sports and regional weather for Conestoga students.

At 8:16, after eight minutes of announcements, Stewart went into her sign-off.

"Today's lunch will be chicken quesadilla. That's all for us - have a great day and an awesome weekend, 'Stoga," she said brightly.

After the production, broadcast teacher Susan Houseman, a journalist for more than a decade at ABC affiliate WNEP in Scranton, said that in recent years she has challenged her students and they have responded beautifully.

"My focus was to increase the journalistic integrity - just to make the show more in tune with what is really going on in a newsroom," Houseman said.

This year, she and her students have jazzed things up with more "stand-ups" and over-the-shoulder graphics.

"I don't want to just see talking heads. People watch television to see video," she said.

Sometimes, Houseman said, she forgets her students aren't professionals.

"You have to have a hunger for this, and they do. They'll come to me with ideas - 'I want to do this,' and 'I want to produce this.' The next morning they've got a package together," said Houseman.

For a video of the show and photos of the students preparing for it, go to http://go.philly.com/conestoga

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