Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Sanikiluaq (Nov 18/02) - Sanikiluaq has a private television station that has everyone in the community involved in the programming.

The main contributors are four high school students between the ages of 16 and 18. The channel is free and goes into every Sanikiluaq household with a television.

Although the students can't provide continuous coverage, they are out videotaping community events as often as they can. Elders teaching traditional games and footage of the past fills the rest of the space.

"It's the first time we've ever done anything like this before. We're helping keep the community informed," said Tim Hyot, Nuiyak school's media class teacher.

The students say everyone in the community is happy with their efforts and they're glad to be learning new things.

"It's exciting. It gives me more skills," said 18-year-old Sarah Qavvik.

With her classmates, Qavvik is learning how to use a video camera, how to put footage on television and how to edit. They are also getting experience on the local radio station.

Moses Ippak, 16, will be recommending the class to his friends. He said a future in television might be a possibility.

"I like television the best because I watch it. My friends and family say what we're doing is pretty good," said Ippak.

The class is working on many different projects. Students are going to be making commercials for candidates in the municipal election on Dec. 9. They will also be interviewing them on a live radio show.

Their biggest project however, is a documentary on Sanikiluaq. Ippak said this will be the most challenging part of the course.

"It's going to be hard but I think we can do it," he said.

His teacher agrees. Hoyt said the students all enjoy shooting the footage but editing can sometimes be tiresome.

"I had an hour of video and got it down to six minutes. It took about four hours to do that," he said.

Hoyt said the media class is valuable to the community and to the students. The residents get some free entertainment and the students learn employable skills. Hyot hopes to see some of his students working for CBC in the future.

In the years to come, the media class will be expanded to include Web page design.