By the Year 9 Media Club Reporters at Southfields Academy
On October 16th, 2025, something amazing happened — our school got to take part in The Manifesto’s 24-hour Global Channel Takeover, hosted at CNN International! It was a full day of live broadcasting where students from all over the world created at least one hour of live content each — all streamed straight to a global audience.
Our team was made up of Marley, Shayanah, and Safa, and we were super proud to represent our school on such a huge stage. Marley and Shayanah absolutely smashed it as presenters — introducing segments all about amazing events happening across our borough and keeping the show running smoothly. Meanwhile, Safa was the floor manager, which meant she was basically the boss of everything happening behind the cameras — giving cues, keeping time, and making sure everyone was in the right place at the right moment.
We were part of something massive — the channel started broadcasting in Brisbane, Australia, then moved through 17 locations across the globe, and finally wrapped up in Los Angeles, USA. It was like a worldwide relay of creativity and teamwork!
We also want to give a huge thank-you to the amazing team at CNN International for being such welcoming hosts! They showed us around, answered our endless questions, and made us feel right at home in their studios. Getting to see how the professionals do it was inspiring — and made us even more excited about the world of media.
We learned so much about how a live TV studio runs (spoiler: it’s hectic but so exciting), and it was inspiring to see students our age doing professional-level work.
You can watch our segment as part of the 24-hour broadcast here.
We’re already dreaming about what we’ll do next — but one thing’s for sure: this was a day we’ll never forget!
All Photo Credits: Matt Breale
