>> FOR 58 SEASONS, AS SCHOOLS MATCH UP, CHALLENGING HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH "AS SCHOOLS MATCH WITS."
WITH THE THE NEW CHAMPION TO BE CROWNED THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, WE
WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT HOW
THE SERIES COMES TOGETHER EACH YEAR.
PRODUCER DAVE FRASER TAKES US TO THE STUDIO AT WESTFIELD STATE
FOR A LOOK INSIDE A WESTERN NEW ENGLAND TELEVISION INSTITUTION.
¶ >> FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY
SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST TEENS IN WESTERN NEW ENGLAND HAVE HAD AN
OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE AGAINST THEIR PEERS ON A TELEVISED QUIZ
SHOW CALLED "AS SCHOOLS MATCH WITS."
>> COMING TO YOU FROM THE CAMPUS OF WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY.
>> CREATED BY LEONARD AND HOSTED FOR MANY YEARS BY PHIL
SHEPARDSON, THE PROGRAM DEBUTED IN 1961.
SINCE THEN IT'S BEEN A TREASURED REGIONAL INSTITUTION AIRING ON
SATURDAY NIGHTS.
AND DESPITE A CHANGING LOCAL TELEVISION LANDSCAPE A MYRIAD OF
CHANNELS FOR VIEWERS TO CHOOSE FROM AND THE POPULARITY OF
SOCIAL MEDIA, ASMW, HAS SURVIVED.
>> THERE REALLY AREN'T A LOT OF AVENUES FOR THE ACADEMICALLY
GIFTED STUDENTS TO SHINE.
CERTAINLY NOT IN THE KIND OF WAY THAT THEY DO ON "AS SCHOOLS
MATCH WITS."
>> LET'S TRY THIS ONE, IN THE GAME OF SOCCER --
>> WE REACH SO MANY HOUSEHOLDS, IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT STATES.
IT'S REALLY A WONDERFUL AND UNIQUE PLACE FOR THOSE KIDS WHO
EXCEL AT SCHOOL, TO GARNER ATTENTION, LIKE THE ATHLETICALLY
GIFTED PEERS DO.
>> IN 2006 IT WAS IN JEOPARDY OF BEING CANCELED WHEN WWLP
ANNOUNCED IT WOULD NO LONGER PRODUCE THE SHOW.
THAT'S WHEN A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP WAS FORMED.
>> I LEARNED ABOUT THE CANCELLATION OF "AS SCHOOLS
MATCH WITS" READING MY LOCAL NEWSPAPER OVER COFFEE ONE
MORNING AND I CALLED MARK HERE AT THE STUDIO AND SAID, I HAVE A
CRAZY IDEA.
>> AND THEN WE HEARD THAT WGBY WAS ALSO CONSIDERING SOME KIND
OF HIGH SCHOOL GAME SHOW TYPE OF A THING ALONG THE LINES OF "AS
SCHOOLS MATCH WITS."
>> IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR US TO CONNECT THOSE TWO PROCESSES.
WE WENT OVER TO WGBY AND SAT IN ON A MEETING AND CAME UP WITH
WHAT I THINK HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.
>> THIS MONTH THE PROGRAM WILL WRAP UP ITS 58TH SEASON OF
DELIVERING THE CLASSIC HIGH SCHOOL QUIZ SHOW FORMAT AND
INTRODUCING A NEW GENERATION OF YOUNG STUDENTS TO ONE OF THE FEW
PUBLIC COMPETITION THAT IS STRESSES KNOWLEDGE OVER PHYSICAL
ABILITY.
>> THIS SHOW IS JUST SO ICONIC AND WHO WOULDN'T WANT THE
OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF HISTORY?
>> BETH WARD HAS HOSTED ASMW SINCE 2008, JUGGLING THIS WITH
HER FULL-TIME JOB AS A NEWS ANCHOR AT WESTERN MASS NEWS.
>> WHAT I'M DOING IS SORT OF HOST/TRAFFIC COP/MAKING PEOPLE
HOPEFULLY -- TEAMS FEEL AT EASE.
IT'S MY JOB TO JUST KEEP THINGS ROLLING.
>> EACH ANSWER WILL CONTAIN THE WORD WOOD SPELLED W-O-O-D,
SOMEWHERE IN IT.
YOU HAVE 90 SECONDS STARTING RIGHT NOW.
>> 2019 WILL MARK THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS HISTORIC
FESTIVAL.
>> WOODSTOCK.
>> IT'S TAPED AT WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY.
STUDENTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THE CREW AS CAMERA OPERATORS, FLOOR
DIRECTORS OR ASSISTANTS HELP IN THE CONTROL ROOM.
>> THE DAYS ARE LONG.
I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE WE TAPE SHOWS BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
ON WEEKENDS, SOMETIMES FIVE, SIX, SEVEN SHOWS AT A TIME, AND
THESE KIDS ARE THERE FROM 7:30 IN THE MORNING UNTIL WE LEAVE
SOMETIMES AT 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 AT NIGHT.
AND THEIR DEDICATION REALLY IS UNMATCHED.
>> IT WAS A LITTLE INTIMIDATING BECAUSE IT WAS MY FIRST TIME
EVER REALLY BEING IN THAT SITUATION.
THIS IS FIELD THAT I'M MOST INTERESTED IN AND SOMETHING I
WOULD LIKE TO DO AS A CAREER SO IT WAS ALSO REALLY EXCITING.
>> SINCE I'M A COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR, BEING IN THIS ENVIRONMENT
AND BEING ABLE TO WORK ON THE SHOW, GIVES ME THE EXPERIENCE
THAT I NEED TO CONTINUE IN THIS FIELD AFTER --
>> ROLL TAPES.
>> THE PROGRAM'S DIRECTOR ERIK JONES IS -- A GRADUATE STUDENT
AND NOW HE HAS A JOB MANAGING THE STUDIOS AT AT&T IN NEW YORK
CITY.
BUT STILL FINDS TIME TO RETURN TO CAMPUS EACH YEAR FOR THE
PRODUCTION.
>> I CHOOSE TO COME BACK, NOT ONLY DOES IT GIVE BACK TO THE
COMMUNITY BUT IT GIVES BACK TO MY ALMA MATER.
IT'S OF GREAT VALUE TO THE STUDENTS BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THEM
TO WORK ON A BROADCAST TELEVISION PROGRAM WITHOUT
LEAVING THE CAMPUS.
>> HI, EVERYBODY.
>> APPROXIMATELY 50 SCHOOLS COMPETE EACH YEAR WITH WINNERS
ADVANCING TO THE NEXT ROUND.
CULMINATING WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP IN JUNE.
THERE HAVE BEEN MEMORABLE SHOWS OVER THE YEARS WITH VARIOUS
SCHOOLS WINNING BUT FOR THE SHOW'S PRODUCER ANTHONY DUNN,
ONE PARTICULAR YEAR WILL ALWAYS BE SPECIAL.
>> A FEW YEARS BACK WE HAD HOLYOKE HIGH SCHOOL IN A
COMPETITION AND THEY MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND
AT THE TIME THE SCHOOL WAS ON THE BRINK OF STATE RECEIVERSHIP,
AND THESE KIDS HAD BEEN TOLD YOU CAN'T, YOU WON'T, IT'S NOT
POSSIBLE, RIGHT?
>> 9/11 TERRORIST ATTACK -- >> BEFORE.
>> BEFORE 2001.
>> WELL, THEY WON.
I SAW KIDS WITH TEARS IN THEIR EYES.
THEIR JAWS DROPPED IN ASTONISH.
AND "AS SCHOOLS MATCH WITS" SHOWED THEM WITH HARD WORK,
DEDICATION AND PERSEVERANCE, THEY CAN DO ANYTHING.
AND TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A VENUE WHERE
THAT CAN HAPPEN, WHERE YOU CAN CHANGE KIDS' LIVES, IS AMAZING.
¶ >> SO AS LEROY ANDERSON'S
BUGLER'S HOLIDAY IS HEARD, A NEW CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED AND THE
LEGACY OF THE SCHOOL WILL HAVE ONCE AGAIN SHOWCASED THE BEST
AND BRIGHTEST STUDENTS OF NEW ENGLAND, AND TOUCHED PEOPLE'S
LEAVES ALONG THE WAY.
>> IT'S AMAZING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO COME UP TO ME, IN
THE GROCERY STORE OR AT THE SHOPPING MALL, AND THEY COME UP
AND SAY, OH, I WATCHED THIS ONE WHEN I WAS LITTLE, AND NOW MY
KIDS ARE ON, AND IT'S JUST SUCH A PIECE OF WESTERN MASS HISTORY.