NVU Students Sweep NATAS Student Production Awards
Northern Vermont University Students Sweep the Multimedia Journalist Category in the NATAS 2022 Student Production Awards
Northern Vermont University broadcast and digital journalism students swept the Multimedia Journalist category in the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Boston/New England Chapter of the 2022 College/University Student Production Awards. NVU also took Honorable Mention in the News Report – Serious News category, and an Honorable Mention in Sports Story or Segment.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Meaghan Meachem, professor and chair of the Journalism and Communications department at NVU’s Lyndon Campus. “They [the students’ submissions] are a fantastic representation of everything we teach and what our students are doing all the time – storytelling and shooting.”
Alexandra Huff ’23, a digital communications and broadcast and digital journalism dual major, won the Multimedia Journalist category for “Locally Social,” a story about the St. Johnsbury coffee shop of the same name, and was awarded Honorable Mention in the News Report – Serious News category for her story about the unification of three state colleges to form Vermont State University.
“When Locally Social was reopening in a new location, I heard about it a lot on campus and realized the shop had so much of an impact on the community,” she said. “I like finding people and businesses who mean a lot to the community and sharing their stories. It was a fun story to tell.”
Huff’s Honorable Mention in the Serious News category for her piece on Vermont State University tested a lot of her skills, from talking in front of the camera [called stand-up] to editing graphics she created into the piece, she said. The story chronicled the many reactions to the announcement of the name of the new institution that will unify Northern Vermont University with Castleton and Vermont Tech. “Looking at it from an objective perspective and telling the story from so many different angles was a challenge and it was fun, too.”
Nick Fish ’22, broadcast and digital journalism, won two Honorable Mention awards for his work. One award was in the Sports Story or Segment category for his piece “World Cup Skiing at Killington,” and the second was in the Multimedia Journalist category for his story about “VT Supports,” a community service project in St. Johnsbury where people come together to pack care packages for soldiers serving in a combat zone. Fish says he “stayed on the sidelines, watching and shooting. I wanted to show the personal story behind this and why they do it.”
Of the awards, he says, “It’s a great accomplishment for me and the school, as we went up against much larger programs and schools. Receiving this honor is not just for myself, but also shows what the program gives us,” he said. “What we’re doing here is just as good if not better” than the other schools, and “we’re getting a more personal experience.”
Huff agrees. “The Multimedia Journalist category shows your skills as a storyteller, as an editor, photographer, audio engineer, and shows that we are so well-rounded in our storytelling. For us to sweep that category is so cool,” she said. “It speaks to the quality of the education and the talent of the students.”
This annual student production award pits NVU student work against much larger schools throughout the region. “The categories that we won and got honorable mention in are our bread and butter [in this program],” Meachem said. “It’s really good solid journalism. The fact that we swept the Multimedia Journalist category with a win and an honorable mention is awesome.”