Bellisario College of Communications

Students set to produce live newscast with coverage of solar eclipse April 8

Special edition of ‘Centre County Report’ to air at 3 p.m. on YouTube

A special edition of “Centre County Report” will air at 3 p.m. April 8 providing coverage of the solar eclipse that will be visible to a large portion of the eastern United States. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two on-location student teams highlight a special edition of “Centre County Report” that will air at 3 p.m. Monday, April 8, providing coverage of the solar eclipse that will be visible to a large portion of the eastern United States.

One of the student teams from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications will be in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is in the path of totality for the eclipse, and the other will report from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, which will host SolarFest, an event for viewing and science-related activates sponsored by the Eberly College of Science.

The livestream for the coverage may be found on the Bellisario College Student Media page on YouTube

“Centre County Report,” the award-winning newscast produced by Bellisario College students, will air at 3 p.m. with national and student contributions. Four students will be on site in Erie — Emily McGlynn, Sophia Montanye, Eric Morris and Georgia Peters. Three others will be at Medlar Field — Reagan Phillips, Savannah Wood and Ethan Zaretsky.

In addition, the newscast will include a live report from a CNN correspondent in Kerrville Texas, which is also in the path of totality. “Centre County Report” is a CNN affiliate.

The students also plan a live report from Erie around 3:20 p.m., when the skies should fully darken from the eclipse in that location. In Centre County, about 95% of the sun will be covered during the eclipse.

Cameras used by the students will be outfitted with special solar filters so they can safely photograph the eclipse from both locations. 

The team for the special newscast production includes several more students in the control room at the Bellisario Media Center on the University Park campus — Mike Bolger, producer; Abby Kachur and Andrew Kalb, directors; Tyler Gallagher, studio anchor; and Marie Moyer, Erica Ross and Alexa Spilotras, production. Abby Chachoute will share updates to social media channels.

Last Updated April 2, 2024