They’ve done it again and then some! The School of Communication’s media outlets of The Vidette, TV-10, WGLT, and WZND has earned many more awards in 2022. The achievements that the folks in all these organizations, all of which thrive from students’ work, continue to demonstrate how truly awesome they are in all that they do. Here is a simple summary of the awards each one earned this year:
The Vidette
The Vidette, Illinois State University’s fully digital student-run news organization, received 26 awards at the annual Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) conference held in Chicago. The ICPA presented The Vidette first with the following first-place awards:
- General Excellence, staff
- Digital Newsletter, staff
- Sports News Photograph, Alex Gant
- Sports Photograph, Alex Gant
- Feature Photograph, Alex Gant
TV-10
TV-10, which is ISU’s working laboratory and academic unit for broadcast journalism and production, received awards and scholarships in April and October.
- From the Chicago Midwest Regional Emmy’s contests, TV-10 had one Emmy Nominee–Cara Forbes in the Cultural Affairs Category, for a story called “Taylor’s Story.”
- The Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) awarded scholarships to Mia Bearden, Camberyn Kelley, and Lizzie Seils (four scholarships were given), each receiving $2,700 from the organization.
- The INBA also awarded the following:
- Maritza Navar-Lopez with second place in TV News Reporting
- Leo Staudacher with second place in TV Sports Reporting
TV-10 also entered the INBA Silver Dome Awards for the fall semester. On October 25, the IBA presented Student Silver Dome Awards to the following TV-10 students:
- First place TV Longform Journalism: TV-10 SportsZone
- Second place TV Longform Journalism: TV-10 Bottom Line
- Second place TV Sports Package: Jordan Mead
- Second place TV Photojournalism: Will Schneider
- Third place TV Longform Entertainment: Ten on 10
- Third place TV Photojournalism: Charlie Pujol
- Third place TV News Package: Marissa Harvey
WGLT
ISU’s National Public Radio (NPR) station, WGLT, received five awards this spring and summer. WGLT earned awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA), and the Public Media Journalist Association (PMJA).
- WGLT earned the distinguished 2022 “Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage” from RTDNA for reporting on Jelani Day’s disappearance.
- The INBA presented WGLT with two statewide honors in the 2022 “Crystal Mic Awards.”
- WGLT received the awards in the “Small Market Radio Category,” with Charlie Schlenker winning first place for “Best Newscast” and Lyndsay Jones picking up second place for “Best Reporter.”
- The entire WGLT team won a national second-place award from PMJA for “Best Public Affairs Program” for its daily 30-minute news magazine, “Sound Ideas.” Finally, the PMJA awarded a national second place for “Best Photojournalism” to WGLT’s Emily Bollinger for her coverage of a Jelani Day awareness demonstration. Bollinger was a senior at ISU at the time, and the award marks both the first time WGLT had ever been honored for journalism and the first time a student has ever won a national award for their work at WGLT.
WZND
ISU’s student-run radio station, WZND FM 103.3, received many awards this year. The following is a complete list of the awards earned by organizations that bestowed the awards:
Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Signature Station Award
WZND was named the 2022 Broadcast Education Association Signature Station of the Year this spring. The Signature Station competition is an international contest recognizing the best college radio station every year. Stations are selected based on programming, digital and social media content, service to their campus and the broader community, and the station’s ability to function as a learning lab for students. This is the third time WZND has won the signature station award, and the second in two years. WZND is the only station to win the award three times, as well as the only station to win the award in back-to-back years.
Students in the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (SINBA) Awards
The Illinois News Broadcasters Association recognizes student work in journalism every spring with a statewide competition. Awards are announced at the spring INBA convention. WZND students won more SINBA awards than any other station or school in the state. The 2022 winners are below:
First place
- Outstanding Radio Play-by-Play: Illinois State vs Iowa (Leo Staudacher)
- Outstanding Hard Radio Reporting: American Justice Bird’s-I-View (Maritza Navar-Lopez, Camberyn Kelley, Gavin Broderick)
- Outstanding Soft Radio Reporting: RedZone (Leo Staudacher, Joey Dwyer, Joe Kennedy)
- Outstanding Radio Sports Reporting: Mikey Fornelli
Second place
- Outstanding Radio Play-by-Play: Illinois State vs Valpo (Joey Dwyer)
- Outstanding Radio News Reporting: Maritza Navar Lopez
- Outstanding Radio Newscast: Maritza Navar Lopez
- Outstanding Radio Sports Reporting: Joey Dwyer
Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) Awards
The Illinois Broadcasters Association recognizes student work from the previous academic year with a statewide competition. Awards are presented at the annual IBA convention. Seventeen different stations and institutions across Illinois compete in these awards. WZND students won more radio awards than every other station and institution in Illinois combined. This is the fifth straight year WZND students have accomplished that feat. This year’s winners are listed below:
First place
- Best Radio Newscast: Maritza Navar Lopez
- Best Radio Aircheck: Bretton Schnoor
- Best Radio Spot: Brass Pig Commercial (Max Martin, Dane Dreyfus, Aleks Beygel)
- Best Radio News Story: Local Tiesto War (Maritza Navar Lopez)
- Best Radio Longform Journalism Program: Dive Into Athletics Bird’s-I-View (Maritza Navar-Lopez, Camberyn Kelley, Gavin Broderick)
- Best Station Use of New Media: WZND.com (Alexis Haas, Maddy Artman)
- Best Radio/TV Promotional or Public Service Campaign: WZND Turkey Bowl (Abbey Munro, Zach McMillin, WZND PR Team)
Second place
- Best Radio Newscast: Camberyn Kelley
- Best Radio Aircheck: Braulio Miranda
- Best Radio News Story: Jelani Day Remembrance (Camberyn Kelley)
- Best Radio Sports Story: Name, Image and Likeness (Eric Schweizer)
- Best Radio Longform Journalism Program: The BloNo You Don’t Know Bird’s-I-View (Maritza Navar-Lopez, Camberyn Kelley, Gavin Broderick)
- Best Radio/TV Promotional or Public Service Campaign: WZND’s Cup ‘O Joe-lympics Giveaway (Mackenzie Gunther, Marcel Francis, WZND Promotions Team)
Third place
- Best Radio Newscast: Blake Borgardt
- Best Radio Recorded Promo: New Music Monday Swan Song (Andrew Evola, Joey Dwyer, Nick Levy)
- Best Radio PSA: ISU Financial Planning Association (Cody Dalzell, Calyn Bowers)
- Best Radio Sports Story: Women in Athletics (Mikey Fornelli)
- Best Radio Longform Entertainment Programming: Wake Up Normal (Max Martin, Eric Boyce)
- Best Sales Presentation: WZND Sports Package (Aleks Beygel, Dane Dreyfus)
College Broadcasters Incorporated (CBI) Awards
College Broadcaster Incorporated is a national organization of student broadcasters from coast-to-coast. Every year, CBI hosts a nationwide competition to award individual student work in several categories. These national awards frequently have 100 or more entries in each category.
Students selected as finalists are one of the top four entries in that category. Students will receive their awards (first, second, third, or fourth) at the annual CBI convention later this year. WZND has more finalists for radio awards than any other station or institution in the country. WZND’s 2022 finalists are listed below:
National Student Production Awards finalists
- Best Recorded Promo: Gamma Phi Circus Giveaway (Mason Ringger, Joey Dwyer, Andrew Evola)
- Best Public Service Announcement: Home Sweet Home Ministries (Mason Ringger, Joey Dwyer, Andrew Evola)
- Best Hard News Reporting: Jelani Day (Camberyn Kelley)
- Best Hard News Reporting: War in Ukraine (Martiza Navar-Lopez)
- Best Feature News Reporting: ISU Effects on the Community (Eric Schweizer)
- Best Documentary: Dive into ISU Athletics (Maritza Navar-Lopez, Camberyn Kelley, Gavin Broderick)
- Best Station Imaging: WZND Imaging Demo (Joey Dwyer, Andrew Evola)
Broadcast Education Association (BEA) National Scholarships
The Broadcast Education Association awards nine undergraduate scholarships valued between $1,000 and $4,000 annually to the top students studying broadcast media and journalism internationally. WZND students were awarded three of the nine scholarships this year.
- Fletcher Peterson: John Bayliss Award Recipient ($3,500)
- Tanvir (Tania) Kaur: Abe Voron Scholarship Recipient ($3,000)
- Amber Kuhn: Abe Voron Scholarship Recipient ($3,000)
Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) Multicultural Internship Program
Every year, the Illinois Broadcasters Association awards paid internships to students from diverse backgrounds. This year, WZND’s Tyler Ledford was selected for the program and interned at Neuhoff Media, splitting time between the Bloomington and Decatur locations.
