John Pluchino is a broadcast communications teacher at High Tech High School in North Bergen, and he is also the host of his own cable television talk show, “J.P.’s Place,” aired on several different cable systems in northern New Jersey.
Pluchino has hosted his show ever since 1987, drawing a variety of guests over the years. The show has received a lot of acclaim from the local cable television industry.
Recently, Pluchino and fellow teacher Barney Doyle, who also serves as the executive producer for “J.P.’s Place,” were talking with some of their students about a myriad of topics, when an idea came to mind.
“I’ve been thinking about doing a show with the teen audience in mind for a few years now,” Doyle said. “If you work around teens enough, you get to see their ideas and their minds at work. They really had some good conversation and John and I thought it would be great to produce a show.”
“It really was a good idea and one that we thought would turn out well,” Pluchino said.
The result has become “J.P.’s Place: Teen Forum.” It features High Tech students as the co-hosts and the members of the panel, discussing a variety of issues that are pertinent to teenagers today.
A group of six students has been regular contributors to the series of topical format shows, which have been airing on Riverview Cablevision’s public access Channel 71 every Friday night at 9 p.m. Eight shows have already aired and several others are in the planning stages or in production.
The group of students meets with Pluchino and Doyle weekly to discuss possible topics for the show.
“However, the last two shows, we didn’t even have a plan,” Pluchino said. “They just all did their research and came prepared to speak when the cameras were rolling.”
Senior Beverly Nevalga transferred to High Tech from St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City solely to learn broadcast communications before attending Northeastern University in the fall. She has introduced a few of the shows and has participated in several of the discussions.
“I knew I always wanted to get into broadcasting,” Nevalga said. “This show is giving me the opportunity to work on all of the aspects of television before I even get to college. The show has been exciting and fun and I think we’ve all learned a lot. I think we all expressed interest in doing something like this and it just sort of took off. We’ve been able to find a vehicle to express our opinions.”
The students have discussed a wide spectrum of topics, including drunk driving, college issues, religion, morals and ethics, finding the right job and cheating.
Last week, the topic was based on “Earth’s Mysteries: Paranormal Activity.” A future show, which is in the planning stages, which will be introduced by junior Natasha Komis of Guttenberg and will focus on the party activity called “raves.”
“We’re going to examine what goes on,” Komis said. “And we’ll have all different points of view and what really goes on at rave parties.”
“The show on religion was so good,” Pluchino said. “I think it was because they all come from different ethnic backgrounds and that they couldn’t come to one conclusion. We also have features that we try to get into the show’s format, just so that it’s not talking all the time on the air.”
Other members of the student forum include Stephanie Susberich, a freshman from Jersey City, senior Lissette Reynoso, who is a shared-time student from St. Mary’s High School in Jersey City, senior Siovonne Persaud from Jersey City and sophomore Duberliz Anaya, a sophomore from North Bergen.
All of the students feel fortunate to have a chance to express their feelings.
“We talk about topics that we like,” Anaya said. “And once we get going, you don’t even notice that the camera is there.”
“I have so much to say, but there’s only so much time,” Persaud said. “We start talking about something, only to have the show come to an end.”
Komis feels that the shows definitely serve a purpose.
“We voice our opinions on topics that teens definitely relate to,” Komis said. “Maybe they see us and we can influence them in a positive way. And we back up the talk with information and research.”
“Even though we may have different opinions, we’re not afraid to say them,” Nevalga said.
Incredibly, all of the work for the programs come as part of the school’s Extended Day Program, which means that the work is not part of the regular curriculum and comes after regular school hours.
“I would say that 70 percent of our students participate in Extended Day,” Pluchino said. “Once the school bell rings at 3 p.m., these students don’t leave to go home. It’s a lot of work and a lot of dedication, but the students are more than willing to work.”
“After a long day, you want to go home, but working on this show really excites us,” Persaud said. “It lets parents know that there are concerned youths out there and we like to share our thoughts with other people. It’s something for me to do and I like being with the girls. ”
That’s an aspect of the show that Pluchino would like to work on. Right now, the on-air talent is strictly female.
“We’d like to get some male opinions on the show in the future,” Pluchino said. “We would also like to do more shows in the future, like 22 or 23. We have the support of the administration as well. Hopefully, if we get feedback from viewers, that would help, because it means that people are taking notice.”
“It’s truly a teen forum and it is definitely something special,” Doyle said.
“It’s gone over well so far,” Pluchino said. “It’s a good product that we’re all proud of. I just hope we can get more distribution.”