'Best Newscast' among numerous National Awards received by MassMedia

Valdosta State University's Mass Media Department won first place for Best Newscast at the national convention of the National Broadcasting Society (NBS) in Los Angeles in early March. In addition, mass media students also won several awards from the Society of Collegiate Journalists (SCJ).

Anchor Taurean Batten actually won first place in News from NBS at the national competition. The newscast was produced by students in the mass media video production workshop. This is VSU's first NBS national award, although the same newscast won second place in a regional competition last fall.

Mass media students received awards from SCJ in various areas. In broadcast news, Roxanne Peppers was awarded second place for News 11: In Focus. In broadcast features, Chris Ober was awarded honorable mention for Vote 2004 Live. In broadcast sports, Jessica Donaldson was awarded first place for Southern Arkansas University (SAU) vs. VSU football, and Roxanne Peppers was awarded third place for University of West Florida (UWF) vs. VSU basketball.

Certificates will arrive soon and a presentation ceremony will be arranged for the students.

"Congratulations to all students who participated in these projects, faculty who guided these classes, and Walter Rollenhagen for devoting his technical expertise," said Frank Barnas, area chair and mass media associate professor. "The awards are even more impressive because of the conditions in which they were produced."

Since there's only one studio, the News 11: In Focus team met at 6:15 A.M. The Vote 2004 Live team consisted of a volunteer team that prepped for weeks to produce the election night program. The SAU vs. VSU football game and UWF vs. VSU basketball game were both produced on Saturdays, while other students enjoyed the weekend.

In the past 12 months, mass media students have received eight national awards from the two dominant student media organizations in the country.