Tag: WJHI

David Callan brings professional experience into WJHI broadcast program

by Abigail Hall

Broadcasting teacher David Callan waves his hands animatedly as he explains the basics of editing.

“Drag and drop your video onto the timeline.”

While he appears normal or a generic teacher to a passerby, he has quite a history. Very few people know that he was a producer and executive director at WDRB before he came to Jeffersonville. 

“I did audio, graphics, technical directing, directing, and eventually became the boss. So I did every job you can do in production,” he recalled.

David Callan assists WJHI student journalists with projects in the broadcast production lab. Photo by Abigail Hall.

However, he started out as a courier. 

“I started off as the station runner. So back then, they had people who went to different TV stations, radio stations,” Callan said. “I went to the movie houses to get what they called movie trailers.”

He tells his students about his time in the production world very fondly, but everyone around him is grateful he made the switch to high school teaching.

Senior broadcasting student Alyssa Jendrick said that Callan has positively impacted her school experience in many ways.

“I’d describe him as a great guide to help others,” she began. “After understanding what you need, it’s nice to help others and even inspire them if they’re willing to dream big and open their minds.” 

Other students often speak highly of Callan, stating how great a teacher and mentor he is. However, it’s not just students; his colleagues also admire him.

Colleague and fellow broadcasting teacher Fred Cowgill said, “He is a great broadcaster, enormously talented, but he’s a better man. He spews integrity, he works hard, he has incredible standards and none higher than for himself.” 

Callan and Cowgill work hard together to make the class a fun and educational place for students to be. In the future, they hope to improve the quality of the program in many ways.

“I’m hoping I’ll have some time and I can get into Adobe certification,” Callan stated. “I’m going to put myself through it, so I understand what you need to do as a student.”

Besides editing, broadcasting students work on many other things. They are involved with producing livestreams of sports games that go on here at the high school. 

“We’re trying to elevate the production level of the game,” he added. “I don’t expect you guys to be at the level that I had when I was working at DRB early on. These people, these were professionals who knew how to do the jobs. But what we want to do is we want to get in a learning step.”

Regardless of what he decides to teach, students know that they will enjoy it, just as much as they enjoy his mentorship and presence. He continues to help others in their learning and life experiences, always putting them first.

“Our goal, Mr. Cowgill’s and I, and our goal is to make you better people, to get you more informed as a citizen.”

by jhshyphen

Better broadcasters, but also better people, is the goal of WJHI media adviser Fred Cowgill

by Jaxon Sturgeon

When Fred Cowgill walked into Jeffersonville High School, his first impression was simple: “A place that was very … what’s the expression? Best kept secret in America.”

Cowgill, who spent nearly five decades in TV and radio, including more than 30 years at WLKY, now leads the WJHI broadcasting program. But for him, the goal has never just been about producing future broadcasters.

The JHS broadcasting team Dave Callan and Fred Cowgill in the WJHI studio soon after they were hired last school year. Cowgill brings nearly five decades of broadcast experience to the job. Photo by Bruno Diaz Cerro.

“We’d love it to be in broadcasting, but we believe what we’re trying to accomplish and teach goes well beyond that,” Cowgill explained. “Better people. Better people to function in society, better prepared for whatever they decide to do with their lives.”

Cowgill always reminds students that the studio isn’t just about lights, cameras, and editing software. It’s about building real world skills, responsibility, problem-solving, and collaboration that last far beyond high school. “We tell them we’re TV dads, and they’re stuck with us for life now,” he said with a laugh.

To him, what makes WJHI stand out is the family atmosphere they’ve built. “We tell them this is a safe place. If they’ve got a problem, come,” Cowgill said. “We’d like to make this a better program, a better school, a better community, and it takes time.”

Cowgill said he’s always looked at his time at WJHI through a “five-year window.” He knows he won’t be teaching forever, but in that time, his mission is to build something lasting, an operation that runs smoothly long after he’s gone.

“The goal has always been five years, because I’m not a kid,” Cowgill said with a laugh. “But in that time, we can make this a turnkey operation where we hand off to the next people, and they have a framework for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

That plan, he feels, is already beginning to take shape. Year one, he admits, was “flying blind.” But now, in year two, the vision is sharper. With the help of teacher Dave Callan, the program is really finding its rhythm.

“We’re establishing year one, we were flying blind,” Cowgill said. “But year two, we’re laying a foundation. The culture’s better.”

Students say they’ve noticed that shift, too. Robert Tucker, a sophomore in the program, said Cowgill has a way of pushing them without ever making the work feel overwhelming. “He’s tough in the best way.” 

Tucker said. “When you know his background in broadcasting, you want to kind of rise to his level. It makes you work harder, but it also makes you care more.”

For him, though, it’s not the big projects that matter most. It’s the little things he sees in the classroom. “I see kids  do something cool that I didn’t expect, didn’t see coming. Makes my month,” he said.

Kaden Westbay, another student in the program, said that encouragement sticks with him. “The smallest compliment from him feels like a huge deal,” Westbay said. “Because when he says you did something right or good, you know it’s legit coming from a guy who’s been doing this for what 50 years?”

What ultimately sets the program apart, Cowgill believes, is its connection to the real world. 

“My 50th anniversary in broadcasting is Sept. 1. Forty-eight and a half of those, give or take, were in TV and radio. We know what works. We know what’s going on in the business. We know what to teach,” he said. 

Cowgill’s mission is clear: build broadcasters, yes, but more importantly, build better people.

by jhshyphen