ASU students at Cronkite School win BEA awards competition

By Joe Giordano |
February 25, 2016

Arizona State University students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication collected more awards in news categories in the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts competition than any other school in the country.

Cronkite students won 12 awards, one more than the combined total of the second- and third-place schools in news, sports and documentary divisions. The win marks the sixth time in seven years that the Cronkite School has finished with the most news division awards. In all, Cronkite students have won 118 awards at the Festival of Media Arts in the past seven years, more than any school in the country.

This year, Cronkite students took home three first-place awards, one third-place and eight honorable mentions in a variety of broadcast categories, including television and radio reporting as well as documentaries. Winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,500 entries, representing more than 175 colleges and universities.

Cronkite News, the school’s nightly newscast that reaches 1.9 million households on Arizona PBS, took first place in the television newscast category. Megan Thompson placed first in the television news anchor category for her work on Cronkite News and other broadcasts. Other television awards included honorable mentions in news anchor, feature reporting and sports talent categories.

Students also won awards in radio reporting, with Jacob McAuliffe taking first in radio hard-news reporting. Olivia Richard won an honorable mention for feature reporting. In documentaries, students taught by professors John Craft and Peter Byck won three honorable mentions.

“This year’s award-winning work is a testament to the dedication of our amazing students and outstanding faculty,” said Cronkite Assistant Dean Mark Lodato. “Whether it was news and sports or television and radio, our students produced high-quality broadcast journalism that made an impact.”

The winners will be honored at the BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas in April.

Established in 1955, the BEA is a global professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises.

The complete list of Cronkite winners include:

First Place: Television Newscast

Nicole Fox and Tien Bischoff, Cronkite News, newscast

First Place: Television News Anchor

Megan Thompson, Cronkite News, anchor reel

First Place: Radio Hard News Reporting

Jacob McAuliffe, KTAR News, “Homeless Center for Men Closes”

Third Place: Radio Sports Story

Jacob Garcia, SunDevilSource.com, “Senior Day Feature: Vi Teofilo and his Ironman Selflessness”

Honorable Mention: Television News Anchor

Lauren Michaels, Cronkite News, anchor reel

Honorable Mention: Television Feature Reporting