Just minutes away from the University of Mississippi campus stands Oxford High School. The Charger Media Group consists of students from The Charger Online newspaper, The Flashback Yearbook, and The Charger Update weekly broadcast. One thing that stands out about OHS is “The Season”.
The Season is a student produced sports series that follows Oxford High School teams behind the scenes. After an almost three-year hiatus, Executive Producer Anderson Shows revived the program after following the stories since middle school.
Shows is a sophomore holding the Executive Broadcast Producer position. He is also the sports editor for The Charger newspaper and produces content for the @chargermediagroup social media accounts. All while producing episodes of The Season.
The episodes are meant to give a more personable look to the sports teams and give the audience more than score cards and plays.
“It helps the student athletes and their coaches be recognized for all of the work that they put into their sport,” Shows said.
The most recent episode of The Season features a tradition of The University Sporting Goods store to write the score of The Crosstown Classic on a post outside of their storefront. The tradition dates back to 1972 when the scrimmage game between Oxford High School and Lafayette High School first started.
While football was one of the more common videos to see on their Youtube page, The Season also covered baseball, basketball, and soccer. Shows told MSPA that baseball is his favorite sport to cover.
“Last season we received a new baseball and softball complex and I thought it was really fun to get to learn more about the history of the program,” Shows said.
He shared how baseball is a really fast-paced sport where there is always a story to be told.
While running up and down the field and staying up late editing, students in the OHS Media Group learn a lot of real-world skills that will help them as they lean into graduation.
“It helps me be a more organized person and builds public speaking skills,” sophomore Executive Producer Madison Pegues said.
Pegues is responsible for putting together stories for their weekly broadcast through interviews and crafting scripts for their on-camera talent.
All of the hard work that these students put in does not go unnoticed.
“It brings our community together because people are able to see themselves through the things we post and share. Whether that’s through our instagram posts with pictures from games and pep rallies or writing articles about the things going on in our school,” Pegues said.
To keep up with the Oxford High School Media Group, you can follow them on Instagram or follow their Youtube Channel for new episodes of The Season. OHS will be hosting the instagram takeover on Friday, September 22 on the MSPA_MS account!
