Brian Rackham, Faculty Advisor
Live and local: NAZ Today
Be part of a real local newscast
For more than a decade, NAU students have been producing the only newscast focused on Northern Arizona. We cover a region that includes Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and the Navajo and Hopi Nations live on cable and streaming. Students lead the way with faculty advisors who have decades of experience to produce a newscast the same way it’s done in newsrooms around the country. As our graduates can tell you, NAZ Today gives you the experience you need for that critical first job. We have alumni working at the Today Show, The Weather Channel, and local news stations around the country, to name a few. If you want to work in television news, we have the opportunities you need with personalized instruction. And did we tell you it’s fun?
NAZ Today reporting, anchoring, and producing
If your goal is to work in front of the camera, we have the hands-on opportunities you need. Our reporters learn to shoot, write and edit their own broadcast stories, producers write and oversee each broadcast and anchors read the news and deliver the weather forecast. Just like any small television newsroom, students work as a team, under deadline pressure, to produce a top-quality local newscast. You’ll also learn how to promote your work on social media and our website NAZToday.com.
In recent years, NAZ Today has been awarded top national honors from the Broadcast Education Association. You can enroll in NAZ Today starting as a freshman and can choose to continue throughout your time at NAU. Some of our recent students have graduated with four years of experience and got multiple job offers after graduation.
NAZ Today studio production
NAZ Today provides a unique, hands-on learning experience for NAU students. Opportunities abound for those interested in experiencing the behind-the-scenes world of television production. Our students learn how to operate studio cameras, graphics systems, audio boards, and more in a professional television studio setting. We give everyone the chance to work on live news broadcasts which are viewed throughout northern Arizona. Many of our students also take on complicated production roles such as Director and Technical Director that prepare them to manage deadlines, technical issues, and the pressure of live television, all while having a lot of fun with a dedicated, hardworking crew.
