Ohio University Recognized for Excellence in Television

Contact: Anne Keyser, external & alumni relations coordinator, College of Communication, (740) 593-0030 or keysera@ohio.edu

Editors: Photos of Ohio University's NATAS award winners can be downloaded from the Web at: 1. www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/NATASGRID.JPG and 2. www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/NATASTET.JPG

ATHENS, Ohio (July 2, 2001) -- Students, faculty members and staff in the College of Communication at Ohio University have been honored with awards from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).

College of Communication faculty members earned NATAS Midwestern Regional Emmy Awards for "Wandering Souls: Tet '68 Remembered." Associate Professor of Telecommunications Jeff Redefer was recognized for audio post-production excellence, and former Telecommunications Center Editor Sharon Teo and Assistant Professor of Telecommunications Roger Good were honored for video editing work. The documentary covered the experiences of a group of Vietnam War veterans who returned to Vietnam on the 30th anniversary of the Tet Offensive in search of personal peace through the commemoration of all lives lost in the conflict.

NATAS presented a Student Production Award to the staff of "Gridiron Glory," a Friday night program that covered area high school football teams in the fall. Kristy Kralj, managing editor of the newsroom at the Telecommunications Center, was supervising producer, and recent journalism graduates Evan Dawson and John Klemack were host and producer of the program. The program was evaluated on creativity, content and execution.

During the 2000-01 academic year, students revamped "Gridiron" by increasing the number of high schools covered, creating a new graphics package and developing a new set, all of which strengthened the show's identity and heightened recognition of its reporters. "Gridiron" followed Logan High School to the state championship game and made use of the university's satellite truck, whose transmission was picked up by the Ohio News Network for the statewide "High School Sports Site."

The Ohio Valley Chapter of NATAS includes 13 television markets in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. This year, there were 548 entries by 40 organizations. NATAS recognizes achievements in television by presenting annual awards of merit intended to inspire the continued pursuit of excellence in the television industry and to focus public attention on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news and informational achievements in television.

The awards were bestowed during a recent banquet at the Aronoff Center for Performing Arts in Cincinnati. Three of the College of Communication's six units -- journalism, telecommunications and Telecommunications Center -- were honored.

Photo Cutlines

1. Among those making "Gridiron Glory" an award-winner are supervising producer Kristy Kralj (left), host Evan Dawson, Mike Rodriguez (student professional development coordinator for the Telecommunications Center) and producer John Klemack.