BEA2025

Welcome to BEA2025! Grab a cup of coffee and a muffin and get the inside knowledge on BEA initiatives, volunteer opportunities and journals. Panelists will give you tips on navigating BEA's annual convention and NAB Show.

Attention all students and student advisors... we'll be talking all BEA student opportunities in Las Vegas.

We are proud to welcome Alpha Epsilon Rho (AERho) the honor society for electronic media students to the BEA family! At this awards ceremony, we will honor the 2025 AERho Class with their certificates and honor cords. We also invite AERho alumni to join us for light refreshments after the ceremony.

Members of AERho emphasize superior scholarship and creative participation in broadcast, corporate, and digital media production and activity. Membership in AERho exemplifies excellence of work, demonstrated leadership qualities, and service to the organization, the community, and the industry. AERho, founded on April 30, 1943, is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS).

National Chair of Alpha Epsilon Rho: Stacey O. Irwin, Millersville University

This panel will explore how educators can teach American comedy production grounded in history and inclusive cultural context amidst the complexities of today's cultural climate. Presentations will cover comedy history, structural foundations of comedic writing, and classroom strategies for balancing creative risk-taking with mindful inclusivity.
Moderator: Kai Swanson, Elon University
Panelists: Robert Spicer, Millersville University
Adam Valen Levinson, Yale University

As journalism programs work to prepare students for the profession, they cannot ignore the research that shows journalism can be an inherently dangerous profession – not just physically, but psychologically. Yet most programs do not address this incredibly important aspect of journalistic work. This panel will make the case for more formalized inclusion of trauma training for student journalists, as well as ideas to help faculty bring that trauma training into their pedagogy.
Moderator: Adrienne Garvey, Southeastern University
Panelists: Adrienne Garvey, Southeastern University; Effective coping strategies for journalists
Jesús Ayala, California State University, Long Beach; Secondary-trauma and how to ethically interview trauma victims
Dorothy Bland, University of North Texas; Tips for teaching covering crisis, trauma and recovery

Sponsored by Ross Video

The annual BEA Board Awards Ceremony recognizes some of the best faculty and graduate student work in research, as well as our scholarship winners, AERho honors society inductees, Diversity & Inclusion Committee research and creative awards, and the very best leadership and service to BEA. Join us at the ceremony to honor this year’s distinguished award recipients.

Host: Glenda Balas, University of North Texas - Dallas

Our 2025 Awardees include:
Distinguished Education Service Award Recipient
Lifetime Achievement in Scholarship
Kenneth Harwood Dissertation Award Recipient


Research Symposium Chair: Graham Dixon, Ohio State University
Jay Hmielowski, University of Florida

BEA Diversity and Inclusion Research Award
BEA Diversity & Inclusion Creative Award

BEA Book Awards:
Book Award
Textbook Award

Library of American of American Broadcasting Foundation’s Broadcast Historian Award

The Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media: Kortni Alston Lemon, Gardner-Webb University, Rosalynn Carter’s Caring Call: How Former United States First Lady’s Historic Compassionate Legacy Has Transformed Mental Health Journalism and Continues to Transform Newsrooms

Innovation in Teaching Award

BEA Research Grant Recipients

Outgoing Board Members
Immediate Past President: Kim Fox, American University in Cairo
Vice President for Industry Relations: Christine H. Merritt, President
Ohio Association of Broadcasters
District 2: Patricia Sanders, University of North Alabama
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina & Tennessee

During the awards ceremony we will recognize the 2025 AERho Inductees and the 2025-2026 BEA Scholarship Recipients:

Please join us as we celebrate all the student winners from the 2025 Festival of Media Arts and the 2024 Signature Station. Winners will be recognized by competition and schools can pick up their awards.
BEA Festival of Media Arts Committee Chair: Heather Dunn, Talent Dynamics
Student Media Advisors Chair: Marjorie Yambor, Dalton State College

Click here to see a full list student of winners.

Television Signature Station Awards
1st Place: AppTV; Appalachian State University
2nd Place: Z News; University of South Florida
3rd Place: AUCTV; The American University in Cairo

Radio Signature Station Awards
1st Place: WOLF Radio, University of West Georgia
2nd Place: KSDB Wildcat 91.9, Kansas State University
3rd Place: WZIS-FM, Indiana State University

Making the Most of Capstone: Exploring Structures and Content for the Future
The final 3 to 6 capstone credit hours of an undergraduate degree in media are some of the most important credits a student will take. Are our students prepared for their careers in media? This panel explores a variety of ways in which media programs are designing capstones to prepare students for professional success. Panelists from large and small, and public and private educational programs present different models, content, structures, and partnerships that have worked and that need tweaking.
Moderator:
Jon Pluskota, Colorado State University Pueblo: The Two Semester Approach: Proposal & Defense/Production & Delivery
Panelists: Sandy Henry, Drake University; Merging, Converging, and Seceding
Jared Hollingsworth & Mary Sheffer & Paul Linden, University of Southern Mississippi; Five Years into a Two Semester Model
Adam Kuban, Ball State University; Essential Community Partnerships
Melissa Jackson, Piedmont University; The Two Semester Capstone: Resourcefulness Through Structure

Now it's real: Best practices for students and media programs to prepare for life after college through senior capstone classes
Senior year – and building a portfolio and industry networking – can be challenging for our students. This roundtable will focus from a teaching and professional development perspective on the importance of providing senior capstone courses allowing students to enhance and hone hard and soft skills needed for life after college. This discussion will also provide best practices on how to implement these practices for students' learning before their senior year and into your media curriculum.
Moderator: Will Murphy, Northwest Missouri State University
Panelists: Kyle J. Miller, Northwest Missouri State University; Kim A. Zarkin, Westminster University; Karen Russell, Tennessee State University; Toni Evelyn Perry, Liberty University

Partnering With The Weather Channel: Productions for a Changing Climate
Climate change is a global challenge requiring science-based broadcast productions that need international collaborations. This panel will explain how to forge high-impact transnational production and distribution partnerships between universities, government agencies, and media networks like The Weather Channel and The Weather Channel en Español.
Panelists: Jairo Becerra, Universidad Catolica de Colombia
John Velandia, Universidad Catolica de Colombia
Santiago Arenas, Universidad Catolica de Colombia
Lina Gavidia, Universidad Catolica de Colombia
Mia Medellin, University of Texas at Arlington

Student News Live Needs You! Created to amplify the voices of student journalists - learn more and get involved!
Student News Live provides a platform for student journalists and transform how their voices are heard in the media landscape, reaching audiences through mainstream networks and streaming platforms. In this session you will learn how you can get involved with this new initiative, either as an individual or campus organization.
Panelists: Lance Liguez, University of Texas – Arlington
Nick Hirshon, William Paterson University of New Jersey
Rob Quicke, Marshall University
Alexander Felix, William Paterson University of New Jersey
Julia Menn, William Paterson University of New Jersey

Covering Race and Trauma: Voices of Resilience in Journalism Education
This panel explores the intersection of journalism, race, trauma, and mental health, with a focus on preparing the next generation of journalists to cover racially charged events with sensitivity, accuracy, and empathy. It features a unique collaboration of students, their instructor, and an expert in trauma-informed journalism. The panelists will reflect on their experiences during "Voices of Resilience," a three-week course where students were embedded in South Minneapolis to cover the anniversary of George Floyd Square and in Greenwood District during the Tulsa Race Massacre anniversary.
Panelists: Julie M. Jones, University of Oklahoma
Desiree Hill, University of Oklahoma

Creating local broadcast news content to engage collegiate audiences; a research-based and innovative semester of news leadership, creative storytelling & journalistic practice
Broadcast students at St. Bonaventure University are committed to building trust within their immediate target audience. They are devoting this year to reimagining and rebuilding a digital news product that informs and engages their peers in an unbiased, truthful, and entertaining way. Through a thorough and inclusive research study, students will track audience feedback, innovatively adjust production, and present insights that could help future news leaders reengage America’s generation Z as informed local news consumers.
Panelists: Anna Bulszewicz, St. Bonaventure University
Sydney Labayewski, St. Bonaventure University
Anthony DaSilva, St. Bonaventure University

During the ceremony, recipients will be recognized with a specialized screening of their winning project and a cash award of $1,000 from the Diana King Memorial Endowment.

The 2025 Best of Festival winners were selected from a pool of 2,285 entries, representing over 300 colleges and
universities in the following competitions: audio, documentary, film & video, interactive multimedia, news,
scriptwriting, sports and two-year colleges.

2025 Best of Festival Winners
Audio Competition - Faculty
Arizona Broadway Theater - Show Trailer: Million Dollar Quartet; Phil Wilson, Huntington University Arizona (Sound
Engineering and Design Category)

Audio Competition - Student
Animated Soundscape Recreation for “Rango”; Brandon Cericola & Kate Rivera, Elon University (Multimedia Sound
Design)

Documentary Competition - Faculty
Without Arrows; Delwin Fiddler Jr., Jonathan Olshefski & Elizabeth Day, Rowan University (Documentary Feature
Category)

Documentary Competition - Student
Unseen in Plain Sight; Rae'Dawn Rebert, Abigail Newlon, Samantha DiFiore & Juan Manosalva, Midwestern State
University (Short-Form Documentary)

Film & Video Competition - Faculty
Spencer's Place; Jonathan Vinson, Huntington University (Commerical or PSA Category)

Film & Video Competition - Student
Converse; Brennan Mahokey, Rachel Kozlowski, Jack Boyle, Louie Light, Marcell Taylor & Jess Santi, Michigan State
University (Spots)

A Film About Toby; Scotty Strout, Lucas Booth & Lilly Stover, University of Oklahoma (Narrative)

Interactive Multimedia Competition - Faculty
The Mental Game Choose Your Own Adventure Edutainment; Kaley Martin, DeAndra Hodge, Scott Parrott, Shaheen
Kanthawala & Bree Holtz, University of Montevallo, University of Alabama & Michigan State University (Interactive
Reality Category)

Interactive Multimedia Competition - Student
Sub[culture]; Vivian Barrett, Joshua Kreiter, Keerthi Morisetty & Alexis Morton, Michigan State University (Emerging
Media & Technology)

News Competition - Faculty
Full Circle; Mike Castellucci, Michigan State University (Television Feature News Reporting Category)

News Competition - Student
‘Larks and ravens’: a new spin on contra dancing; Sierra Pfiefer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Radio
Feature)
A Special Singer; Juan Carlos Chaoui, University of Florida (Television Short Feature)
First at Five; First at Five Staff, University of Florida (Television Newscast (4/5 days per week)

Scriptwriting Competition - Faculty
L.O.T.U.S.; Nathan Patton, Missouri State University (Original Television Series Pilot Category)

Scriptwriting Competition - Student
21st Century Heretic; Alex Isbell, New York University (Original Television Series Pilot Category)

Sports Competition - Faculty
Do Right: The Stallings Standard; Chandra Clark & Michael Bruce, University of Alabama (Long Form Sports Video
Category)

Sports Competition - Student
B12 Hype Reel; Wilson Gustaveson, Brigham Young University (Promotional Video/Tease/PSA)

Student Two-Year Colleges Competition
Ghoul-Be-Gone; Viviana Bivian, San Bernardino Valley College (Narrative)

Graduate Student Competition
Healing Hands; Jordan Ochel, Baylor University (Narrative)