CHERRY HILL, NJ (SBN) — State Broadcast News is supporting NJSpotlight.com’s program of live roundtables with virtual video production services during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. SBN has produced audio and video podcasts from the live in-person roundtables for more than ten years.
NJ Spotlight moved to a virtual roundtable format with SBN for its last two roundtables, both focusing on how the New Jersey public school system is coping with home-schooling and remote learning during the lockdown. The panels on education are moderated by John Mooney, NJ Spotlight founding editor and education reporter.
The first roundtable, “School’s Out: Managing Remote Learning During COVID-19,” was broadcast on March 26, 2020. Resources for this roundtable are on the NJSpotlight.com website.
The panelists were:
Dr. Denise King, Principal, B. Bernice Young Elementary School, Burlington Township School District
Dr. Danielle M. Kovach, Special Education Teacher, 2nd/3rd Grade, Hopatcong School District; New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, 2011
Dr. Scott Rocco, Superintendent of Schools for Hamilton Township School District; President, New Jersey Association of School Administrators
Watch the roundtable in this video player:
The second roundtable, “School’s Out: State Education Policies During COVID-19,” featured state Education Commissioner Lamont O. Repollet and his team, discussing the expanding array of important questions facing the state’s schools and the Department. You can find the resources for this roundtable here.
Dr. Lamont O. Repollet, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Education
AbdulSaleem Hasan, Assistant Commissioner, Field Services, New Jersey Department of Education
Dr. Linda P. Eno, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Academics and Performance New Jersey Department of Education
Watch the second roundtable in this video player:
The roundtables are being produced remotely from SBN’s Cherry Hill studios, using a combination of the Zoom videoconferencing platform and vMix live video switching software, according to Steve Lubetkin, news director and producer at SBN. Panelists join the program from their own remote locations via video link to maintain state-mandated social distancing recommendations.
“We’ve built extensive remote video and audio capabilities to accommodate our clients’ needs over the years, and we’re happy to be able to respond quickly to these important requirements,” he said. “We have been managing a wide range of remote live-streaming and recording requests for clients including tape sync interviews for podcasts and radio programs, virtual video conferences, religious services, and a number of others.”
SBN’s remote video broadcast platform can accommodate a wide range of remote video feeds, including up to eight remote guests and speakers through the vMix software’s vMixCall feature. Broadcast-quality graphics, recorded video and audio playback, and live-streaming to multiple platforms such as Zoom, Facebook Live, StreamSpot, and others are supported by the platform.
Steve Lubetkin is the news director for StateBroadcastNews.com. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. He refocused on multimedia journalism and podcast production after a long career in corporate branded journalism and public relations.
He has won numerous awards for his audio and video news reporting from the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced a wide range of audio and video podcasts in his other role as managing partner of State Broadcast News’s parent, The Lubetkin Media Companies.
Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional.
In March 2021, he was elected to the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in July 2021 he was named secretary of the chapter. In August 2021, he was honored by SPJ with one of the organization’s 2021 Howard S. Dubin Outstanding Pro Member Awards, given to regular members of an SPJ chapter who go above and beyond in serving their chapter.
Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996.
Steve also has reported on-camera and produces virtual conferences for NJSpotlightNews.org, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC.
From May-November 2019, he produced and reported a weekly podcast, The CRE News Hour, a news and features program focusing on the commercial real estate industry.
From 2014 to 2019 he was New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com and filled in covering Chicago/Midwest and Atlanta.
Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies.
Earlier in his career, Steve reported on rock music at the Jersey Shore for the Asbury Park Press, and was a broadcast news anchor and production engineer for WJLK-AM & FM, then owned by the Press. He also worked as a general assignment reporter for the Red Bank Register, Shrewsbury, NJ.
You can email Steve at steve@statebroadcastnews.com.
