Cronkite Student Again Named Nation’s Best Collegiate TV Reporter

For the first time ever, a student has won back-to-back awards as the nation’s best collegiate TV news reporter.

Ian Schwartz, who graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in May and now reports for WHOI-TV (ABC) in Peoria, Ill., won the Broadcast Education Association’s 2006 Best of Festival Television News Reporting award, the highest student recognition in the nationwide contest.

Schwartz, who also won the top award last year, will be honored April 20 at the association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.

Schwartz’s investigative story examined the lack of enforcement of an Arizona law meant to protect homeowners from methamphetamine residue in houses where the drug was manufactured.

“We are enormously proud of Ian and his many accomplishments,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. “Ian is not only a great talent, but like many of our students, is reporting on critical issues that affect Arizonans.”

Schwartz’s Best of Festival Television News Reporting award follows four consecutive years in which a Cronkite School student won the nation’s Best Radio Reporter or Best Television Reporter award from the BEA.

Meanwhile, Schwartz and seven other Cronkite students dominated the reporting categories in this year’s BEA contest, with eight awards. The next closest schools had three awards each. Cronkite winning entries included:

TV Hard News Reporting
1st — Ian Schwartz, “Meth Houses”
2nd — Andrea Evenson, “Election Phone Scam”

TV Feature Reporting
1st — Elias Johnson, “Rosie’s House”

TV Sports Anchor
1st — Nick Oviedo, Cronkite NewsWatch

TV Sports Reporting
2nd — Evan Doherty, “Mountain Pointe Golfer”

Radio Hard News Reporting
2nd — Mike Daniels, “MLK Violence”

Radio Feature Reporting
3rd — Michiko Howlett, “Window Cleaners”

Radio Sports Reporting
1st — Justin Karp, “D-backs Organist”

The Broadcast Education Association is the professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises. More than 250 universities and colleges are members of the BEA.