Students and faculty at the West Virginia University’s P.I. Reed School of Journalism are gaining international recognition for their work in broadcast journalism and documentary filmmaking.
The School recently won two gold MarCom awards. “WVU News,” the student-produced weekly news program, received a gold Marcom award for Best Broadcast TV Program. In addition, Television Journalism Program Chair Gina Martino Dahlia won a gold award for Best Documentary for her work, “The Monongah Heroine.”
Dahlia says, on a personal level, it is an honor to be recognized by peers in the industry who also value good, quality journalism. In regard to her students, she believes running “WVU News” as a real television newsroom is what sets them apart from the other university and college news programs.
“Most student newscasts only report on what is happening on their college campuses,” said Dahlia. “We cover campus news, but the students also report on news events in Monongalia County – shootings, fires, city council meetings, consumer topics, sporting events. This experience allows us to showcase the newscast with a wide audience appeal. It also allows the students the opportunity to report on the same stories they would find reporters at network stations covering.”
Students who produce “WVU News” serve as reporters, on-air anchors, producers, directors and technical crew during newscast tapings at WVU’s professional television studios. The program airs statewide on West Virginia Public Television.
Dahlia’s film, “The Monongah Heroine,” focuses on the widows and children left behind following the Monongah, W.Va., mine disaster of 1907, which claimed more than 300 lives. The documentary debuted on PBS in December 2007.
The MarCom Awards is an international competition for marketing and communication professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs and print, visual and audio materials. The competition is one of the largest in the world, and winners range in size from individual communications to Fortune 50 companies.
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cv/11/15/10
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CONTACT: Kimberly Brown, School of Journalism
304-293-3505 ext. 5403