Cronkite students win 11 Rocky Mountain Emmy Student Production Awards

Students at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication led the field in the prestigious Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Student Production Awards, announced Sept. 21. Recognized for their exemplary work in reporting, producing, writing and directing, Cronkite students earned 11 wins—more than any other college or university.

Cronkite News, a daily television newscast produced by Cronkite students in a capstone course, won the College Newscast category, while a special edition on water recreation won the College Magazine Program category. And after Cronkite students nabbed every nomination in the College Sports Program category, two groups of Cronkite students tied for a win: the Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau and the Walter Cronkite Sports Network, one of the Cronkite School’s award-winning student media organizations.

Two students, Janae Bradford and Zachary Davis, each won two awards for their collaborative work across news and sports programming. And recent graduate Tabitha Bland—who recently began her professional career as a multimedia journalist at WMTV 15 News in Madison, Wisconsin—won the College News Report category.

“Winning for this story, ‘Homeless Solutions,’ not only makes me proud to represent Cronkite, but it makes me proud to be a storyteller in today’s world,” she said.

“My face hurts from smiling so much,” said assistant teaching professor and Cronkite News managing editor Allysa Adams. “Nothing is more rewarding than watching your students succeed. Cronkite students are a special breed. They work incredibly hard, champion each other and deserve successes like these.”

The Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honors the art and science of professionals and students working in television with regional Emmy Awards and Student Production Awards, and it covers the regions of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and southeastern California.