From Eagle Eye to Fox News

The only television news station in Alabama that is completely produced by students is Auburn’s very own, Eagle Eye. This may be a surprise to most, but the students are taking extra measures to assure their work does not go unnoticed.

News, events and sports are covered by Eagle Eye each week in the spring and fall semesters. Shows air Monday through Thursday on channel 6 at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Any Auburn student can join Eagle Eye, no matter what their major. Meetings are held Tuesday nights in Suite 1105 on the bottom floor of the Auburn University Student Center. Students can join at any point in the semester.

This is where it all began for Eagle Eye anchors, Carly Springer and Suzanne Bratton. Fall 2011, the girls joined Eagle Eye to get experience in their field of interest.

“We joined Eagle Eye to get more hands-on experience and it’s a great way to get to know people and you learn so much here,” said Springer “It looks really, really good on a resume because you learn how to edit, shoot and be a reporter.”

Springer and Bratton, became best friends through their shared experience with Eagle Eye. They shoot all of their video footage together and help each other edit when they’re done.

“It’s kind of rewarding that I made a best friend through Eagle Eye, and I think when you’re with a bunch of people that have the same interest as you do it’s a lot easier to make friends,” said Bratton.

Though the girls have only been involved with Eagle Eye for a short time, they have entered one of the largest news contests in America.

Fox News College Challenge is a contest between college undergraduates in the United States. Students must be enrolled at a four-year college and majoring in any type of communication or journalism.

Winners will receive $10,000, an internship or job interview with Fox News Channel and a trip to New York City.

Both women have friends who told them to enter the challenge. Their friends immediately thought it was perfect for them when they heard about it. Springer and Bratton took this as a sign and entered the contest.

“My friend and I have been working very hard at Eagle Eye and we thought we had honed our skills enough to where we could create a really good package and hopefully win,” said Springer.

Alabama’s new immigration law will be the subject of their news package. Immigration is currently an issue across the United States and this particular law is a popular topic. The law has said to be the harshest immigration law in history.

“We decided to do this because it’s a hot issue right now, here in Alabama and we thought the story would be good enough to get us a win, since nobody from the state of Alabama has ever won the Fox News College Challenge before,” said Bratton.

Interviews have been completed with many people who have different takes on the issue. Springer and Bratton want to present their story in a fair and accurate way.

“Fox News Logo is to be fair and balanced, so we’re trying to present both sides of the issue and show why many people think it is bad and why many people think the law is a good thing,’ said Bratton.

Be rooting for these tigers as they represent Auburn and Eagle Eye News by turning in their news package on February 16.