Indiana Broadcast History Archive

An Indiana native and lifetime devotee to broadcasting, journalism, golf, and all things Disney, David Young works day-in and day-out to inspire the next generation of media creators. Taking on the role of a Fishers, IN educator running a program known as the Southeastern Media Network (SMN), Young has worked for the Hamilton Southeastern district since 2005. SMN is a massive media umbrella that encompasses multiple forms of journalism: sports, broadcast news, podcasting, on-camera and behind-the-camera production, yearbook, and publication writing and editing. During this nearly two-decade period, Young has strived to implement constant changes each school semester and is ecstatic to see the additional changes that will arrive within the coming years.  

Education 

From kindergarten through his senior year of high school, David Young attended the Warren County school district in Indiana. In middle school, Young joined his school’s newspaper club and began his journalistic journey in print news. This propelled Young to become his school’s newspaper Editor-In-Chief during his junior and senior years of high school.  

But the print medium was not where Young felt he most belonged. “Writing was never my strong point; it was always storytelling,” he said. As such, he began to shift his focuses on visual storytelling, and sought out colleges that would emphasize such a concept. Originally, Young had planned on attending Franklin College, with a major in something completely unrelated to his talents: Biochemistry. Late into his senior year of high school, Young finally had a change of heart. “What made me who I am?” He asked himself. “It all came down to my journalistic and media background.”  

Finally, David Young enrolled in Indiana University with a specialized major in Journalism Education, which he had constructed himself—it was not a major the university had seen before. In other words, Young was dual-enrolled in both Journalism and Secondary Education. As someone who loved visual storytelling but did not have much experience with it, his first time having true, hands-on experience in both film and journalism was by student teaching a class that taught such concepts. Young believed that these were “two parts of his life [and his areas of interest] that did not have to be separate.”  

Eventually, David Young also received a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Butler University. Over time, he kept expanding his skillset and learning how to work both behind and in front of the camera. “People should never stop learning,” Young said, commenting how both classes and interests can turn into desirable careers. He also stated that even though it’s difficult to be a journalist in the current world, everything a journalist does is tell a story. And those stories are important to both inform audiences and create something compelling.  

Career 

In 2005, David Young began working for Hamilton Southeastern High School, located in Fishers, IN. Here, he took on a role as a broadcast journalism teacher, offering instruction in a student-led class that instructs high schoolers how to run a news studio almost entirely on their own, producing a polished newscast for a school of over 3,000 students.  Below are some examples of the work the students are doing.

March 15th, 2024 Royal Rundown, the daily newscast from SMN.

A feature story on a unified track athlete, published on March 15th, 2024.

The Homepage for HSE News/Southeastern Media Network.

Young calls this role more akin to that of an advisor than a teacher. He strives to guide students to constantly keep building something; making improvements and new creative decisions as they go. “I’m the bumpers in bowling,” he said. “I’m the driver's ed instructor.” In other words, Young likes to lead his students towards success and operate as a safeguard if things go awry, but ultimately wants them to learn both shortcomings and breakthroughs on their own.  

Over the past two decades, David Young’s program has undergone a number of changes. From a modest yet impressive student newscast to a multimedia umbrella that encapsulates broadcast journalism, sports media, a newspaper, yearbook, and sports broadcasting, it has taken on identities such as “HSETV”, “HSE News”, and, most recently, “Southeastern Media Network”. Moreover, each semester, Young strives to push the envelope even further and one-up his own creation—or, rather, he wants his students to do so. In fact, no two days in his entire career have ever looked the same, and Young desires to constantly keep reinventing.  

Young made the note that not all of his students necessarily want to go into broadcast and will end up taking his class out of sheer curiosity. Nonetheless, he pushes each and every one of them to gain necessary life skills and learn how to juggle a multitude of both short and long-form projects. 

“When you leave here, and when you’ve been in our program, hopefully you’re more set up for success in any [industry],” Young said. “You do work that matters.” 

The Future of Media 

While David Young is unsure where Southeastern Media Network—and broadcast journalism as a whole—are headed next, he believes that all media-minded people should take a look at the trends and evaluate where to go from there. As for SMN specifically, Young strives to fortify a program in which students can work in a community-level setting, rather just within the academic confines of Hamilton Southeastern High School. 

“To me, that’s what it’s about,” Young said. “How can we continue to expand our opportunities to match our students’ passions and experiences?” 

Sources of Inspiration 

Young gives credit for him entering the world of journalism to his high school journalism teacher and newspaper adviser, Mark Haab. “He helped open up the world of journalism and media to me, took chances on me in leadership positions, and helped show me the next level of learning through local and national conventions. [This is] something I still provide for my students today,” Young said. 

Mark S. Haab, Courtesy of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at IUPUI.

Later on, David Young found inspiration in Bob Albano, the former high school principal for Hamilton Southeastern, and the man who hired him. Albano challenged Young to think outside of the box and build something that could have a long-lasting impact. Young took these words to heart and keeps on developing SMN each and every day. 

Bob Albano (left) with his grandson, Cooper Hudson (right). Courtesy of Cooper Hudson.

In more recent years, Young has attempted to emulate the life lessons taught by those who are completely separated from the media sphere. “I look to the Walt Disney Company their take on storytelling and attention to detail,” Young said, making a note of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s book Ride of a Lifetime. He also rattled off Brendan Bucher as a “personal development guru” he enjoys, and the words of Leslie Odom Jr.  

Young has taken all of these sources of inspiration and blended them all together to mold his method of instruction in a classroom setting. “To me, it’s not about what students know, but what they can do,” he stated. 

Cooper Hudson interviewed Young in February of 2024. The full oral history, as well as Young's additional feedback, can be viewed below.

David Young Additional Responses

Written, Edited, and Archived by Cooper Hudson.

March 2024