In 2015 Coach Paul Lockwood began Apex High’s beloved student broadcast news, entitled CougarTV, was created. For the last seven years, students at Apex have joined the CougarTV crew through the Cultural Media Literacy class. They have written, filmed, and edited informative and fun videos for students to enjoy each week. All students watch the latest CougarTV episode in Cougar Class every Wednesday, but few know what really goes into curating a new episode each and every week. 

Experienced students like Sarah Bess “SB” Eskridge are in their third semester in CougarTV. SB enjoys “filming with people outside of the class to make the episodes more inclusive.” She loved working on last week’s fall sports segment because she got to interview our talented athletes. 

New CougarTV staff members like Victoria Howerton and Maxton Bohm decided to join this semester because they had heard such good things about the class and had many friends who had loved being in CougarTV. Victoria is in her first semester as a staff member in CougarTV. Victoria said, “I like filming intros.” Intros, or introductions, are the first segment in each episode. They are designed to captivate the audience’s attention, so they keep watching. Maxton says he is “really excited to anchor an episode.” Each episode has two anchors, who stand behind the CougarTV desk, introduce topics, and help the episode transition smoothly between different segments.

Each spring, applications for the Legacy newspaper, Epilogue yearbook, and CougarTV are opened by Peak Student Media. Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to fill out the application and be interviewed for available positions. Although the interview process may seem intimidating for some students, CougarTV staff says you should not let it stop you from applying. “Don’t be nervous about your interview; just be yourself,” says SB. 

Since 2015 CougarTV has been in the helpful hands of countless students and three teachers, Coach Lockwood, Mrs. Doud, and their current (and former) teacher, Mrs. McGee. Despite the changes over the years, new teachers and graduating students, CougarTV has remained a staple at Apex High. Spreading information about everything from the arts to weather to sports, students and staff alike look forward to watching CougarTV each week.