Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is once again the top overall school in the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) ranking of schools based on the creative achievements of their students.
The Cronkite School ranked number one in the Overall Programs category, as well as for the Top Winning News Programs and the Top Winning Sports Programs. Cronkite also ranked second in the Top Winning Documentary Programs.
Cronkite also finished as the top overall school in 2022, which was the first year the BEA began ranking schools.
“This is really reflective of the commitment by our faculty, our staff and our students to excellence in broadcast education, and this also reflects the strength of our facilities and our curriculum,” said Cronkite School Dean Battinto L. Batts Jr. “We get fantastic students from all over, and they come to participate in our program under the direction of our fantastic faculty here at Cronkite. This is a point of pride for us.”
The rankings are based on the results from the past five years of the BEA Festival of Media Arts contest, which is known as the preeminent international media competition focused on student and faculty creative endeavors. During that time, nearly 6,000 student creative works were submitted from more than 300 member institutions around the globe for BEA’s extensive juried process.
In recent years, the Cronkite School has dominated the BEA Festival of Media Arts contest. Cronkite won 31 awards in the 2023 contest, including 12 first-place prizes, marking the 13th time in 14 years that the Cronkite School has finished ahead of all other colleges around the country, including winning the most news division awards.
So what has been the key to the Cronkite School’s success?
“It’s the hands-on experience that you get here at Cronkite through all of your classes every step of the way. From the time you come here as a freshman, you’re working with some of the best people who are in the industry,” said Nicholas Hodell, a sports journalism major who is graduating in May.
Autriya Maneshni, a journalism and mass communication major who is also graduating in May, won four awards at the (BEA) Festival of Media Arts contest. Her awards included a “Best of Festival” prize, which are the highest honors awarded at the festival.
The Cronkite’s School’s diversity, along with the guidance provided by its professors, are among the reasons why Cronkite is consistently among the BEA’s top schools, she said.
“The students here at the Cronkite School are just some of the most diverse and unique students I have personally ever met. We all come from so many different backgrounds and bring so many different ideas and perspectives,” Maneshni said. “The faculty helps us refine and turn into these awesome impactful stories that we get to tell so I think that’s a huge reason why Cronkite received this number one ranking for a second time.”
The BEA rankings evaluate schools by measuring the quality and consistency of students’ creative works from one participating institution as compared to others. While BEA has been systematically evaluating student work for more than 30 years, the annual rankings are based on the past five-year period of student success.
In the “2023 BEA Festival School Rankings,” 170 schools are represented with student winners. The statistics from the previous five years are compiled and confirmed by the BEA Festival Advisory Committee, which is made up of past Festival Chairs and Creative Directors.
About the Cronkite School
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier professional journalism programs and has received international acclaim for its innovative use of the “teaching hospital” model. Rooted in the time-honored values that characterize its namesake — accuracy, responsibility, objectivity, integrity — the school fosters journalistic excellence and ethics in both the classroom and in its 13 professional programs that fully immerse students in the practice of journalism and related fields. Arizona PBS, one of the nation’s largest public television stations, is part of Cronkite, making it the largest media outlet operated by a journalism school in the world. Learn more at cronkite.asu.edu.
About the Broadcast Education Association (BEA)
BEA is the premiere international academic media organization, driving insights, excellence in media production, and career advancement for educators, students, and professionals. There are currently more than 2,000 individual and institutional members worldwide. Visit www.beaweb.org for more information.
About the Festival of Media Arts
The Festival of Media Arts was created and is organized by BEA faculty across the globe to honor the amazing works of both students and faculty. It is an international refereed exhibition of faculty and student creative activities and provides a venue for exhibition of winning submissions, including recognition of project authors, through showcase and awards sessions held during BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas. The Festival seeks to enhance and extend creative activities, teaching, and professional standards in broadcasting and other forms of electronically mediated communication. Over $19,000 in prizes is awarded each year, thanks to the generous longtime sponsorship of the Foundation and the continued Diana King Memorial Endowment. The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation was established in 1988 to support individuals, institutions and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development.
Visit www.beafestival.org for more information.