Arts & Entertainment

Welcome to Talk Show, with RJ Sheedy

The Milford High School junior has launched a talk show on Milford TV.

RJ Sheedy by day is a high school student. As soon as school ends, he takes on another persona: talk show host.

He's trying to book guests, conduct research, write the right questions, and perfect his on-air interviewing technique.

The junior at Milford High School launched "Talk Show with RJ Sheedy" on Milford TV this year, and recently taped his first episodes at the new studio.

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Watching him, audience members are reminded of his role models: a young Conan O'Brien-David Letterman, complete with the suit and tie, the coffee mug, the collegial manner toward guests.

His first guests have included staff and students, and graduates, of Milford High, including teacher Jennifer Walsh, director of the Milford Special Olympics programs.

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For the new shows taped at the Milford TV studio, on South Main Street, he started with Al Correia, the host of "That Milford Show," who's acted as a kind of talk-show mentor to Sheedy, who is 17.

Last week, a taping for another show drew another of his professional role models, Jim Young, owner of Young Broadcasters of America, and Earl Wilson, the manager of the Milford Varsity Boys Basketball team, well-known for his half-court, halftime shots.

Wilson is popular among students at Milford High, Sheedy said, and when he announced on his Facebook page that he'd be on the show, suddenly, overnight, everyone was talking about Talk Show.

On the show, Sheedy asked Wilson how he got started with the half-time program, and how many he's completed. Wilson explained that he practices daily for the trick shot. When the episode airs, existing video footage of Wilson doing his halftime routine will will merged into the segment.

Throughout the taping of the show, Sheedy was relaxed and confident in front of the camera. "I love being on TV," he said later. "I love talking to people."

Sheedy first had a taste of the on-camera life as a sophomore, when he took a video production class. He went to Jim Miller, the class instructor, with the idea, and Talk Show was launched.

Initially, the show aired on Channel 11 as part of the community access programming then run by Comcast. Now, with a home at Milford TV, Sheedy has access to improved equipment and greater access to a facility that runs beyond school hours.

"I have more freedom in that studio," Sheedy said.

His ideal guests, he said, have a program or a talent they want to talk about. He's willing to email guests questions in advance, and give them an idea of the parameters of their on-air interview.

At school, the visibility of his show bring compliments as well as criticism. His friends aren't shy about telling him what they think, he said, good or bad. "Occasionally someone will say somthing to me: 'That was really, really good.' Or something snarky."

Talk Show with RJ Sheedy airs at 3 p.m. Mondays, noon on Tuesdays, 9 p.m. on Thursdays; and 8 p.m. on Saturdays on Milford TV.


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