Students at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko have started producing their own television newscast, called The Side Talk, giving the historic boarding school a daily student-run broadcast with anchors, co-hosts and editors pulled straight from the classroom. The program airs new episodes most mornings and covers school news, announcements and student voices.
According to KFOR, school administrators approached art teacher Benjamin Blackstar about starting a TV news class, and he ended up leading the effort. Blackstar has a personal connection to the school: he attended Riverside as a student himself before returning a few years later to teach art, according to KQED. The class now has designated editors and anchors and produces multiple newscasts every week, per KFOR's reporting.
Students Behind the Desk
Kyndee Thompson serves as an anchor on The Side Talk, while Isaac Hernandez works as a co-host, the station's report notes. Hernandez said he first heard about the class through a friend last year and signed up as a senior. The crew has yet to produce many field reports so far, focusing instead on studio-based segments as the program gets off the ground.
Blackstar described the class as a shared learning experience rather than a polished operation from day one. “this is one of those experiences where we’re all learning together,” he said, per the same account. That framing fits a newsroom still finding its rhythm, with students figuring out roles alongside their teacher rather than following an established playbook.
A School Built on Deep History
Riverside Indian School was founded in 1871, making it one of the oldest schools in Oklahoma. The school itself describes Riverside as the oldest federally operated Native American boarding school in the United States, located in Anadarko and serving students from more than 75 tribal nations in grades 4 through 12. The school's own materials note that its new broadcasting class allows students to create daily content, develop media skills and share announcements with the wider school community, with episodes accessible on YouTube each morning.
The Side Talk has its own YouTube page where viewers can watch additional newscasts beyond what airs each morning. Great State, a segment referenced in connection with the broadcast, is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union, according to KFOR.
Part of a Broader Push for Student Media
Riverside's new broadcast reflects a wider effort among Oklahoma schools to build student journalism skills in the classroom. A state educational resource from K20 LEARN outlines a comparable exercise in which students film short news segments about school events and then brainstorm ideas for their own newscasts, a model that mirrors the hands-on approach now playing out at Riverside. For a school with roots stretching back more than 150 years, The Side Talk gives current students a modern outlet to put their own stamp on daily school life.
