Students in the Radio-TV-Film (RTF) program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh are winning national accolades for their work.
In late October, a contingent of UW Oshkosh RTF students attended the annual convention of the College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) in Atlanta. Students Erik Cole, Sara Wirtz and Eli Wickman gave a presentation to a standing-room-only crowd called Big Screen Ideas for Small Screen Productions. In it, the students shared solutions and procedures for developing and executing scripted dramas and sitcoms for Titan TV.
Director of Television Services Justine Stokes said the UWO students continued to field questions from attendees long after the presentation had concluded.
UWO was also honored in CBI’s national production awards. WRST-FM was a national finalist in two categories. In the category for Best Sports Reporting for Radio, student Brandon Kinnard won for a segment called Titans Outlook, previewing last fall’s football matchup against UW-Whitewater. Kinnard is currently WRST’s program director and Titan TV’s sports director.
Also, student announcer Brad Beck was honored in the category for Best DJ for his work on WRST’s afternoon jazz programming. In the category for Best Promo for Television, Titan TV was a national finalist for a promo for the series UW Noir, produced by Wirtz and Wickman.
UWO has won 14 CBI awards since joining the organization in 2009.
On Nov. 1, the College Media Association gave out their Pinnacle College Broadcast and Web Tech Awards at their national convention in Chicago; these awards honor college radio, television and online media efforts. WRST-FM named Station of the Year in this national competition. The station’s entry featured a sampling of the station’s student-produced efforts in news, sports, talk and audio productions.
WRST also took first place honors in the category for Best Radio Sportscast. The segment was called The Lights Go Out at Titan Stadium: The Ben Zalas Story, and profiled the longtime scorekeeper at Titan Stadium after he announced he was stepping down from the post. Kinnard produced the story for WRST’s Oshkosh Sports Saturday program.
WRST was also a national finalist in the CMA’s Best Radio Newscast category for an afternoon newscast from March 30, 2012. The segment was anchored by current station manager Spencer Wagen. It included a story about GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich from his appearance on campus earlier that day; the Gingrich audio was collected on-site by student reporter Trevor Uitenbroek. The newscast also included a feature report on the new UWO Horizon Village residence hall produced by student Brian Davidson.
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