About five years ago, cartoonist Tom Batiuk, BFA 鈥69鈥攑erhaps best known for his long-running newspaper comic strip, Funky Winkerbean鈥攚as contacted by a local high school student who wanted to interview him for a story to run on the school鈥檚 cable TV channel.

It was the first time that Batiuk [rhymes with attic], who is based in Medina, Ohio, had heard about The BEAT, an award-winning, student-driven program that offers young professionals, from 6th to 12th grade, the opportunity to experience journalism in a hands-on way. (The BEAT stands for Brunswick Educational Access Television and serves the Brunswick City School District.)

Once Batiuk saw the television studio in Medina and everything the students were doing, he wanted to learn more鈥攁s research for his comic strip.

Funky is a reflection of my life,鈥 says Batiuk, who retired from teaching art in 1972 to focus on the nationally syndicated strip, which ran in 78 newspapers at that time and now appears in more than 400 newspapers worldwide.

鈥淢y characters started in high school, grew to young adults, and are in their late middle age. Along the way they鈥檝e reflected my own experiences and, by extension, the experiences of my readers as we鈥檝e traveled the same road through life.鈥

When Batiuk was on set at The BEAT studio for his interview, he observed how the school news program operates. 鈥淚 was surprised at how far advanced everything was,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 asked [the program鈥檚 advisor] if I could hang around and get some reference materials so that I could update things for the Westview High School that鈥檚 in Funky.鈥

Turns out The BEAT鈥檚 advisor is a 麻豆视频 grad, too. John Wasylko, BA 鈥80, who received a degree in communications, says, 鈥淥ur students are being groomed to be 鈥榖ackpack journalists.鈥 They're not only taught how to work equipment, but more importantly, they鈥檙e taught how to write and how to construct a good news story.鈥

Wasylko discovered early in his career that he liked working for corporations, producing videos and working with communications of any sort. Hired as the community relations representative for Brunswick City Schools in 1997, he was encouraged to use his video skills in supporting the school cable channel, as well as managing communications for the district.

鈥淭he first year I was shooting videos throughout the district,鈥 Wasylko says, 鈥渁nd I had students coming up to me all the time saying, 鈥榃ow, that looks like a lot of fun,鈥 or 鈥楾hat looks neat, how can I get involved?鈥欌

He wanted to find a way to meet the students鈥 interests, and after speaking with the school superintendent about starting a video program, The BEAT was born.

This Funky Winkerbean comic strip featuring The BLEAT ran on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Used with permission.


This Funky Winkerbean comic strip featuring The BLEAT ran on Sunday, March 3, 2019. Used with permission.

Since the program鈥檚 beginning in 2000, the 11- to 18-year-old student members of The BEAT are given opportunities to experience real-world journalism鈥攚riting news stories, conducting on-camera interviews and even editing, shooting and directing their own content.

It鈥檚 a collaborative effort, and one that Wasylko says was inspired by his own experience at 麻豆视频 in the late 鈥70s. He was one of a group of students with a passion for all kinds of music who were hired to work as board operators and occasional hosts during the day on WKSU.

They also produced an entirely student-driven show at night called 鈥淔resh Air鈥 [unrelated to the current NPR program hosted by Terry Gross], which played music interspersed with interviews of artists from around the world talking about their music.

"Funky is a reflection of my life."

鈥 Tom Batiuk

 

Members of The BEAT pose with Tom Batiuk and John Wasylko on the set in the TV studio at Brunswick High School. The news set was donated by FOX 8 Cleveland around 2012.

鈥淲hile we were programming the music, we would ask if the artist who created it would talk with us,鈥 recalls Wasylko. 鈥淚t was as simple as asking.鈥 Most of the musicians they contacted said 鈥測es鈥濃攊ncluding prominent artists such as Peter Gabriel and Andrew Lloyd Weber.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I got my first taste that young people can do anything鈥攁nd if they work together, the sky is the limit,鈥 Wasylko says. 鈥淚 tried to bring that spirit of collaboration into what we鈥檙e doing with The BEAT. I want young people to feel that anything is possible.鈥

Wasylko is impressed with how far The BEAT has come since its start. Batiuk is, too鈥攁nd he was inspired to update his daily comic strip to be 鈥渁 little more current.鈥 He wrote a storyline incorporating the real school news program into a similar one for students at his strip鈥檚 fictional Westview High School.

鈥淚 just stole their studio, wunk it into Funky and wrote off that,鈥 Batiuk says. 鈥淚 took my character, Les, who had been the advisor for the school newspaper and put him in John鈥檚 role of being the advisor for this television station.鈥

He also took inspiration from the Westview High School鈥檚 mascot, a scapegoat, and the sound it makes to create a name for his comic strip鈥檚 television station. 鈥淚nstead of calling it The BEAT, I call it The BLEAT, just adding a little 鈥楲鈥 in there.鈥

Batiuk says it helps him to ground his work in a real setting. So now he comes around The BEAT studio about once a year to observe and research for his work. Recently, he included a story in the strip based off the Brunswick BEAT students鈥 yearly efforts in covering the Medina County Fair.

鈥淚t鈥檚 funny how sometimes life imitates art,鈥 Wasylko says. 鈥淲e are so honored that he sees us as adding value and contributing something to the strip.鈥


Macy Kittelberger, BS 鈥20, majored in public relations at 麻豆视频鈥檚 School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Now that she has graduated, she hopes to take everything she has learned at 麻豆视频 and pursue a career in corporate communications.

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