Cronkite student Jordan Elder gathers footage for her award-winning report, “Powering a Nation.”
Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication brought home 32 awards – more than any other school – at the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts competition.
Cronkite students earned honors in 18 different broadcast categories, including two entries that received the prestigious Best of Festival recognition. Winners were selected from a pool of 1,750 entries submitted by more than 300 colleges and universities.
This year is the 10th time in 11 years that the Cronkite School has finished with the most news division awards.
Best of Festival awards went to Jordan Elder for her TV news feature “Powering a Nation” and to Noah Kelly for his work producing a series of Cronkite News newscasts. Cronkite students also earned six first-place finishes, six second-place finishes and six third-place finishes, along with 11 Awards of Excellence for their submitted work.
The awards ran the gamut from news broadcasts and sports features to weathercasting, documentaries and educational programming.
Cronkite faculty member Allysa Adams and student Ethan Schmidt also were honored in the Faculty Sports Competition for their piece on amputee basketball.
“Our students produce extraordinary work, and we’re so proud that their work is recognized on a national level, among their peers,” Cronkite Associate Dean Mark Lodato said. “These awards punctuate what we already know is true, that Cronkite students and faculty work tirelessly toward national excellence.”
Established in 1955, the BEA is a global professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises.
The Festival of Media Arts winners will be honored during a special ceremony at the BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas in April. Below is a complete list of Cronkite award winners.
Best of Festival Television
Jordan Elder, “Powering A Nation.”
Best of Festival Student Newscast
Noah Kelly, “Cronkite News.”
Educational Program
First: Dylan Simard, “50 Grades of Shade.”
Short Form Documentary
Second: Dustin Patar, Anton L. Delgado and Anna Huntsman, “State of Emergency, Episode 3: The New Normal.”
Award of Excellence: Carly Henry, Peter Nicieja and Miguel Octavio, “State of Emergency, Episode 1: Trapped in Recovery.”
Award of Excellence: Molly Duerig, Allie Barton, Jordan Elder and Christian Gravius, “State of Emergency, Episode 4: A Rising Threat.”
Award of Excellence: McKenzie Pavacich, Sarah Beth Guevara and Becca Scadden, “State of Emergency, Episode 2: The Silent Aftermath.”
Mixed/Pedagogical (Teacher/Student Co-Production)
Award of Excellence: Melanie Alvarez and Lillian Donahue, “Coming Clean.”
Multimedia Storytelling
First Place: Anya Magnuson, Allie Barton and Briana Castañón, “The Faces of Disaster.”
Award of Excellence: Alexandra Wolfe, Nathan Thrash, Niki Nelson and Zachariah Willoughby, “PRSA Phoenix Chapter Website Redesign.”
Radio Hard News Reporting
First place: Christopher Lindsay, “Homeless Count.”
Third place: Austin Westfall, “Swept Away.”
Student TV News Long Feature
First Place: Jennifer Alvarez, “A Son’s Legacy.”
Second Place: Samie Gebers, “Homeless Pets.”
Television Hard News Reporting
Second Place: Kailey Broussard, Molly Duerig, Derek Hall, Arren Kimbel-Sannit and Lindsay Walker, “Pedestrian Deaths.”
Third Place: Bryce Newberry, “Fentanyl Strips.”
Television News Anchor
Second Place: Marcella Baietto.
Award of Excellence: Jennifer Alvarez.
Television Weathercaster
First Place: Jordan Evans.
TV News Short Feature
Second Place: Samie Gebers, “Inmate Dogs.”
Faculty Sports Competition
Best of Competition: Allysa Adams and Ethan Schmidt, “Amputee Basketball.”
Radio Sports Story/Feature/News
Third Place: Brian Brindley, “The Heat is On.”
Radio/TV Sports Event Play-by-Play Talent
Award of Excellence: Josh Schaefer, “Baseball Half-Inning Sample.”
Television Sports Story/Feature Long
Second Place: Matt Lively, “Turf Paradise Horse Deaths.”
Third Place: Chancellor Johnson, “From the Military to the Mats.”
Award of Excellence: Scotty Gange, “Arm Solo: The Jeremy Ogle Story.”
Television Sports Story/Feature Short
Third Place: Blaine McCormick, “Pitching In To Reduce Plastic Waste.”
Award of Excellence: Makayla Perkins, “Driving at 150 MPH.”
Television Sports Talent (Anchor/Host)
First Place: Scotty Gange.
TV Sports News Program
Third Place: Isaiah Wrinkle, Steven Van Durme and Robert Kraus, “Cronkite Sports Report – Season 11, Episode 6.”
Award of Excellence: Richard Geraffo, Daniel Karl, Bailey O’Carroll and Chancellor Johnson, “Cronkite Sports Report – Season 11, Episode 7.”
Award of Excellence: McKenzie Pavacich, Anthony Totri and Claudia Faust, “Cronkite Sports Report – Season 12, Episode 5.”