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Liberty students bring home 14 awards for broadcast work

Students celebrate a broadcasters award from the Associated Press of the Virginias. Back row: Kyle Vatt (left), Adam Fornwalt, Jacob Patterson, Keegan Pardon, and Joe Mixie; front row: Denton Day and Thomas Pensiero.

Liberty University students won several awards for their radio and broadcast projects at the annual Associated Press of the Virginias Broadcasters awards ceremony earlier this month in Roanoke, Va.

“The students did some good work in this competition cycle,” said Dr. Chris Underation, associate professor of digital media and communication arts. “Sometimes when you do projects that are tied to class they are looked at as class work. We’re trying to get the message across that they are capable of professional work right now.”

Awards were either meritorious or superior, with the latter being the higher level. In the collegiate category, Liberty won 10 awards, three of which were superior. In the metropolitan category, in which Liberty’s student broadcasters competed with professional radio stations across Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, Liberty won four awards, including one superior. The superior award was earned for Best Sports Feature, meaning Liberty beat all metropolitan radio stations in the category.

The submissions came from projects assigned in a radio news production class taught by Underation. In the class, students had to produce news pieces for 90.9 FM The Light, Liberty’s on-campus radio station and for dissemination on the Liberty Champion student newspaper’s website.

Underation said he thinks contests are the best way for students to gauge their skills.

“This has been a good year,” he said. “We have won a handful of national awards for things like this during this academic year. When you get the reputation as a program that wins awards, that becomes an expectation.”

The award plaques and certificates will be hung in the new recording studio, currently under construction in Marie F. Green Hall.

Liberty Associated Press of the Virginias Broadcasters awards:

RADIO-METROPOLITAN
Superior Sports Feature – “Average Joe’s Sports Show: NFL Draft Chat with Liberty Football’s Josh Woodrum & John Lunsford” by Joe Mixie, Denton Day, and Thomas Pensiero
Meritorious Sports Feature – “Beyond the Statistics NBA Talk: Russell Westbrook” by Jeremy Fitch, Denton Day, and Adam Fornwalt
Meritorious Sports Feature – “Interview with Liberty Hockey’s Ben Hughes” by Adam Fornwalt
Meritorious Outstanding Sports Operation of the Virginias – 90.9 FM Staff

COLLEGE RADIO
Superior News Story – “LU Traffic Tie-ups” by Keegan Pardon
Superior Feature Story – “The Story of the Spirit Rock” by Matt Guercia
Superior Sports Story or Sports Program – “The Madness of March” by Keegan Pardon
Meritorious News Story – “Feeling Hungry?” by Joe Mixie
Meritorious News Story – “Coke vs. Pepsi” by Keegan Pardon
Meritorious Feature Story – “Flashback Farms” by Landry Coleman
Meritorious Feature Story – “Life in Revolution” by Joshua Goebel
Meritorious Sports Story or Sports Program – “Average Joe’s Sports Show: Saturday Morning Sports Talk” by Joe Mixie, Thomas Pensiero, and Jacob Patterson
Meritorious Sports Story or Sports Program – “Meet the Jayhawks” by Margaux Gill
Meritorious News Program – “90.9 WQLU Newscast: 9/21/16” by William Young

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