A television news story created by two second-year students from Conestoga’s Journalism-Broadcast diploma program has been chosen to receive a national award from the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC).
Super Lice, a 90-second story by reporter Kristin Van Eck and camera person/editor John Morris, was ranked by judges above all other student productions from colleges and universities across the country for the top television news story under two minutes. The story reports on the prevalence of head lice resistant to insecticides found in commonly used anti-lice shampoos and ointments.
Van Eck and Morris produced the story as part of their Television Newsroom class taught by Professor Rachelle Cooper. The class produces Spoke TV, a weekly half-hour news program that airs on Rogers TV and can be seen online at spoketv.ca. Students rotate through different newsroom roles each week, including news director, web producer, reporter, camera person, anchor and assignment editor.
“Newsroom production has taught me what makes a newsworthy story, how to execute it and how to put it all together,” said Van Eck. “It takes many individuals to bring the whole production together and no role should be overlooked. It really is a team effort.”
“I’m very proud of Kristin and John for being recognized nationally for their work,” said Cooper. “They pitched a newsworthy story, included two relevant interviews from different perspectives, wrote a strong script, and demonstrated solid shooting, editing and on-camera skills.”
The best Video ENG News Story award will be presented at the BEAC National Conference Students Awards Gala in Niagara-on-the-Lake on May 23.
Conestoga’s two-year Journalism-Broadcast diploma program prepares students for careers in television, radio and online broadcasting. There are still spaces available for Fall 2014 entry. For more information or to apply, visit the Conestoga website.