University News
Broadcasting Students Earn Regional Awards
December 13, 2007
MACOMB, IL - - Six broadcasting students at Western Illinois University were awarded first place honors at the National Broadcasting Society (NBS) Region 5 Meeting and competition held in late October in Des Moines, IA. Because of the regional win, their audio and video packages and scripts have been automatically entered into the 2008 national competition.
The National Broadcasting Society Region 5 includes colleges and universities in the followings states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Approximately 20 universities submitted entries to the regional competition.
In addition to student successes, Western Illinois broadcasting instructor Don Norton was named Adviser of the Year.
In Spring 2007, Western Illinois broadcasting students won the most awards at the Students in the Illinois News Broadcasters Association (SINBA) statewide meeting. Competition was against students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University.
Students earning first place honors in NBS Region 5 competition include the following, listed by county and hometown:
COOK COUNTY
CHICAGO (60620) – Sparkle Sapp, a senior broadcasting major and law enforcement and justice administration minor, earned first place in audio promos for "Adam Pascal Promo."
HANOVER PARK (60133) – Melissa Jandt, a senior broadcasting major and marketing minor, earned first place in drama program script for "Ghosty 'U' – Poltergeist."
NORTHBROOK (60062) – Alex Degman, a senior with a double major in broadcasting and journalism, placed first for his audio feature package titled "Macomb Peace Rally;" his audio news segment titled "Macomb Snow Removal;" and his audio news package titled "Illinois Republicans on the Gross Receipts Tax." Degman had also placed first in last spring's SINBA radio news reporting competition.
MERCER COUNTY
SHERRARD (61281) – Elizabeth Bales, a senior broadcasting major and communication minor, earned first place for her video news package titled "Hillary Clinton Comes to Town." She was an anchor for WIUTV-3, which provided live coverage of Western's five-night mock presidential election on campus Oct. 23-Nov. 5. She also earned the Spring 2007 broadcasting department award for best reporting package.
SANGAMON COUNTY
CHATHAM (62629) – Kyle Dierking, a senior broadcasting major and journalism minor, placed first, with Kristy Maag, for the video news program "WIUTV-3 Year in Review." He also won the video sports program competition with "Pigskin Preview" and video sports package with "Women's Basketball." At the Spring 2007 SINBA competition, Dierking took top honors in television sports reporting. He also earned Spring 2007 broadcasting department awards for best sports package, best video color announcer and was a member of the best television newscast team.
CHATHAM (62629) – Zachary Pillsbury, a senior broadcasting major and music business minor, placed first in audio station imaging for "WIUS-FM 88.3 'The Dog' Liners." He also earned the Spring 2007 broadcasting department award for best radio promo production.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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