Getting Anchored : A CSUN television news show gives students a head start in the ‘real world’ of broadcasting.

Christina Peak worried about her hair.

“How does it look?” she asked the crew just minutes before anchoring “Valley View,” a weekly cable TV news program produced by a Cal State Northridge broadcasting class.

“It looks fine,” student cameraman Marcos Lupian said, trying to ease her nerves. “It was flatter the other times. It looks really good today.”

“It’s got that anchor look,” chimed in classmate Karen Sakakura, who was operating the other camera. “You know, that full-bodied kind of look.”

TV news is TV news, and while this may be a small college studio, the similarities between the CSUN show and what students often refer to as “the real world” do not end with the anchorwoman’s concern about a good hair day.

These student journalists have deadlines and story meetings, editing sessions and voice-overs. Their world is real enough. The show, which made its debut in 1988, airs three times every Monday--at 6 and 6:30 p.m. on CableVision Channel 67, and 9 p.m. on United Artists Cable Channel 15.

“We cover stories like anyone else,” said Andy Boron, 23, “and it goes on the air just like anyone else.”

Instead of dollars, students get academic credit. But more important, they get tape. When applying for jobs at television stations, they can submit more than a clever cover letter and a professor’s recommendation. Students who have taken the class have moved on to anchor and reporting jobs around the country.

“What I learned at Valley View was immeasurable,” said Dave Karraker, now a reporter for CBS affiliate KCOY-TV in Santa Barbara, who spent two semesters in the CSUN news program in 1991. “I see interns that just don’t have the technical skills I learned.”

CSUN journalism instructor Rick Marks, the show’s faculty adviser, added: “I taught at USC for 13 years, and they didn’t have this kind of thing. Students did stories, but it never fit into a format, so they never got the feel of a whole broadcast. They never knew what it’s like when a producer says you only have one minute for a story. Here, they learn the whole structure.”

By rotating roles every three weeks, students become familiar with every editorial and technical aspect of the news-gathering operation. The versatility helps them learn each job and prepares them for their immediate futures. Students often do all the reporting, camera work and editing for their stories.

“I plan to apply to small markets,” said Peak, 22, a senior, “and I’ll need the experience of doing everything because that’s what you have to do at small stations.”

Students find stories on their own or are assigned pieces by a producer. They concentrate on Valley angles and are updated throughout the week. Each Monday, the script is put together and the pieces are edited to fit the half-hour show. Normally, the young journalists do a run-through before taping to give the technical advisers time to coordinate the anchor’s voice-overs with the story’s footage and to make any last-minute changes in the script.

“Last week, the run-through was atrocious,” said Dan Dibley, 24, the associate producer for the last two weeks. “We get about 10 minutes to give them a few notes and correct things.”

On a recent show, Peak--once she got her hair problem straightened out--started to practice her delivery. She complained she wasn’t sure of the pronunciations in the story about foreign leaders congratulating Bill Clinton on his election victory.

“Hey, I’ve seen NBC people mispronounce a lot of things,” said Marks, who worked for 22 years as a writer and producer for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Boron, Peak’s co-anchor for the newscast, was busy trying to memorize his lines.

“You really want to be looking at the camera when it’s your time,” Boron said, “and not have your head in these papers.”

Both Peak and Boron looked forward to the rehearsal, but since this is CSUN and not CNN, not everything went smoothly. Because of technical problems, the run-through was scrapped, and there was some concern that the show would not make it on the air at all. But the equipment was fixed and it was time to tape.

“This is a lot of pressure,” Boron said.

“Don’t forget to smile,” said Peak, who was nervous because there had been no run-through.

“I don’t like to go straight,” she said.

“This is a test to see if you guys can do it in the real world,” Sakakura said.

At 5:45 p.m., the show finally began. There were about half a dozen segments, including ones on City Councilman Nate Holden’s announcement that he’s running for mayor of Los Angeles, reactions from local Democrats and Republicans to Clinton’s victory, and a feature about a North Hollywood clinic that teaches teen-agers about safe sex.

Except for some timing problems in the voice-overs, each segment went well. Boron didn’t bury his face in the script.

The class missed the 6 p.m. broadcast but made it in time for the 6:30 and 9 p.m. shows.

Dibley kept track of the time in the control room, and the credits rolled just before the 30 minutes were up. The crew applauded and hugged each other. Marks gave a congratulatory speech.

“In the real world,” Marks said, “it’s like that and worse. You guys did it. A little mistake on audio could’ve disrupted the whole show.”

Peak smiled. For the next three weeks, she would be the show’s producer, and wouldn’t have to worry about her hair.