"It’s great to have the help of so many professionals…"

Not to mention an LAPD helicopter dropping water on our nearby ‘fire’, actors portraying displaced citizens of Malibu as well as wanted criminals, 3 TV live trucks, a brand new TV studio, a crew of LAFD firefighters, 3 real Public Information Officers, as well as top talent from newsrooms all across California…

These people and these resources, (and more) brought together one weekend a year at Pepperdine University, are the engine that drives the Bootcamp. Here’s the premise: TV journalists invent a story for students to cover. The students arrive and are immediately thrust into the rhythm of breaking news- the chaos, confusion, endless detail and enormous responsibility of telling the story of people and property at risk. This year’s event was a meth lab exploding and triggering a wildfire, evacuations, a manhunt and an arrest. "Anchor, Write, Report, Discover" is what the Bootcamp’s students do during the 30 very eventful hours of this immersive- and very convincing- staged news event.

Some people don’t get much sleep. A few were up ‘till all hours writing, editing, polishing their pieces nearly until dawn, and working to get the most out of their time. The payoff for each Reporting student is a VHS tape of a completed story at least 90 seconds long. Graphics and news footage are provided, and can be cut into the pieces, and each one does a live shot, standups, voiceovers. It’s all there.

The new TV studio at Pepperdine is used by a smaller group, who learn the fine points of TV news anchoring. They, too, go home with a demo reel; co-anchoring at a desk, they toss to packages, read stories, handle breakers.

What does the Bootcamp accomplish? A level of true behind-the-scenes involvement that no classroom, however elaborate or well-staffed, can match. The program has grown each of the three years it’s been done, and this year the Reporting program sold out in advance for the first time. Graduates of past years have come back to mentor, and some are already on the air. Measure success any way you wish; you’ll conclude APTRA Academy is a great success.