By Sydney Peterson, Clark Colby, ISU
AMES, Iowa – During the 2025 4-H Reporters Camp, Iowa PBS prepared young Iowa storytellers for covering the Iowa State Fair. Hosted in collaboration with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the immersive training day offered hands-on experiences in broadcast journalism, video production and digital storytelling.
Youth from across Iowa had been selected to participate in the July 21 event. The Iowa 4-H Reporters program, now in its ninth year, is an opportunity for youth interested in media and communications to learn more about the industry and develop news media during the Iowa State Fair.
“Youth have powerful stories to tell, and working side by side with professionals gives these young people real-world experience in radio, TV production and social media,” said Clark Colby, ISU Extension and Outreach 4-H arts, communication and design youth program specialist. “This kind of hands-on experience equips Iowa 4-H youth with skills that go far beyond the studio.”
This year’s selected Iowa 4-H Reporters are: Weston Bogue, Carroll County; Brock Jean, Dallas County; Brynn Ostrem and Samantha Tilley, both of Hamilton County; Megan Swartzendruber, Johnson County; Payton Curtis, Jones County; Ali Hansen, Page County; and Ben Waddle, Gabriel Kramer and Lilah Forbes, all of Story County.
4-H Reporter Brock Jean said, “In today’s world of multiple news sources and constant ‘breaking news,’ it is imperative that we have trained reporters who can effectively communicate with audiences. As someone who is considering a career in media, I believe that this opportunity is a great way for me to gain experience in media production, see how things are done behind the scenes, and learn more about a potential career field.”
The training kicked off in Studio 3 with a warm welcome from Caryline Clark, engagement director at Iowa PBS, who framed the day’s activities around empowering youth to document their 4-H journeys. The youth learned how Studio 3 Live showcases local, regional and national artists performing original sets while sharing their musical journey, and features interview segments woven throughout the episode to learn about each performer, their creative process and what drives them to make their music. Youth were encouraged to use similar framing to think about how they could capture stories about 4-H members in a variety of settings at the upcoming state fair.
Participants were given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Iowa PBS, offering a glimpse into the station’s daily operations. One of the highlights was the production control room, where youth learned about the many roles contributing to a successful broadcast — including director, assistant director, technical director, character generator operator and audio operator.
“It’s a lot of communication,” said Sean Ingrassia, production supervisor at Iowa PBS. “Everyone wears a headset, so that’s how we communicate between the five to six people in the studio and the people in [the production room].”
Dave Miller, a senior producer and director at Iowa PBS, compared the teamwork required in production to other extracurricular activities in which the 4-H Reporters are involved.
“We all have to work together – it’s very much a team sport in putting on successful shows. The director is like a pitcher in a baseball game. They’re the ones helping direct the game. The catcher is quite often the one making all the calls as to what they ought to do, but the pitcher gets to decide. It’s similar here – the technical director and director, they both have to be of one mind and have to listen to each other.”
Miller added, “Or like in theater, everyone has to know their role. Everybody has to play their part. That is probably one of the big parts I love about working at Iowa PBS or on any other production – a group of us come together to do something that helps tell somebody a story.”
Interview Feedback Activity at Iowa PBS.After the tour, youth participated in a series of hands-on sessions led by Dave Miller and fellow Iowa PBS producer Paul Yeager. These veteran journalists shared insights on interview fundamentals, scriptwriting, social media strategy, filming techniques and best practices for field reporting — including audio, framing and lighting considerations.
The afternoon shifted into creative work sessions. Participants broke into small groups, crafted interview questions and recorded video segments alongside Iowa PBS mentors. Participants captured footage throughout the studio and received real-time feedback from staff at Iowa PBS.
The day concluded with a drone discussion and demonstration by Danny Engesser, Iowa PBS digital distribution coordinator. The experience offered a glimpse of what’s to come at the Iowa State Fair, where these 4-H Reporters will apply their new skills to produce authentic, youth-driven stories.
“I am excited to serve as an Iowa 4-H Reporter to continue to grow in the area of communication and to learn more about the career of being a reporter,” said Payton Curtis.
The team will work together to plan for their assignments and projects, four days of reporting at the Iowa State Fair covering 4-H events.
“Being a 4-H reporter will allow me to gain some professional experience as I plan to get into the sports journalism or media field in the future,” said 4-H Reporter Gabe Kramer. “This training and working at the fair will allow me to create relationships and develop some working experience in reporting.”
“I hope to explore ways to create interesting and engaging content, and I’m excited for the experience during the fair to give me a good foundation for a future career in the field,” said Lilah Forbes. “I hope to use my experience in this program this year and from previous years to inform others about 4-H.”
Ali Hansen, another 4-H Reporter, expanded on how the program is helping her find her passions and feel Beyond Ready for a career after graduation. “Before 4-H, I never considered a career in digital marketing. 4-H has given me opportunities to work on my design skills by working on various projects. The 4-H Reporter program has also helped me realize how fun it is to plan, record and edit videos, and take photos to help educate the public on a topic, like 4-H. Throughout my past seven years in 4-H, I have learned other skills contributing to this. 4-H has helped me find my voice by learning design strategies and strategies that will help me achieve my goal of being a digital marketer.”
Beyond Ready is a nationwide 4-H initiative to empower young people with the skills, resilience and confidence they need to thrive in an ever-changing world.
The Iowa 4-H Reporters are dedicated to sharing 4-H stories. Iowa 4-H members apply for the Iowa 4-H Reporters program through State 4-H Recognition Day. For more information, visit the Iowa 4-H Reporters webpage or contact Clark Colby at cacolby3@iastate.edu.
