Academics

Student television, film work recognized in national competition

Penn State graduates Jess Arnold and Yousef Saba served as hosts for "The Journey," a "Centre County Report" special that earned second place in the television news category of the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts competition. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State was well represented in the annual Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts competition as a television news magazine special, a television news anchor, a weathercaster, a narrative video and a short form documentary were recognized.

This year, the BEA received 1,450 entries representing more than 175 colleges and universities. Work by Penn Staters received three second-place finishes.

A “Centre County Report” (CCR) special titled “The Journey” took second place in the television news magazine category. The special is comprised of work from College of Communications student journalists who traveled to Greece last spring to cover the refugee crisis. Jess Arnold, a 2016 graduate, served as producer, a story contributor and an anchor for the piece.

Megan Roethlein’s “Sogumadur (Storyteller)” claimed second place in the short form documentary category. It tells the story of Gerður Kristný, an Icelandic poet, who explores her inspiration as a writer, and how stories have impacted her own life as a feminist. Last spring, Roethlein, a 2016 film-video alumna, traveled to Iceland as one of 12 film-video students in the advanced documentary film course, leading to the production of this piece. 

Meteorology student Hunter Williams was named the second-best television weathercaster with his clips from CCR. Included in the entry was a forecast from Oct. 7 that touched on Hurricane Matthew and a forecast from Oct. 21 after heavy rain caused flooding in Centre County.

In the narrative video category, “Dungeons and Drama” finished in third place. The film tells the story of Dungeons and Drama night, and how it takes an unexpected turn when Elliott’s girlfriend decides to crash the party and show the boys a different way to play the game. Caleb Yoder (writer/director), Chris Rencavage (producer), Jacob Jenny (cinematographer) and Aaron Andrews (sound, editor) all graduated in 2016.

Lesly Salazar, a 2016 journalism alumna, received the television anchor award of excellence. Salazar’s submission featured samples of her anchoring for CCR from the fall.

CCR, a student-produced newscast that airs twice a week during the academic year, also reaches 530,000 households in 29 Pennsylvania counties because of a partnership with WPSU-TV.

The BEA is the premiere international academic media organization, driving insights, excellence in media production, and career advancement for educators, students and professionals. The Festival of Media Arts, a national showcase for student work, seeks to enhance and extend creative activities, teaching and professional standards in broadcasting and other forms of electronically mediated communication.

For a complete list of winners, click here

Last Updated June 2, 2021