WOUB Radio Wins Award

Contact: Olivea Oldham, Public Information Coordinator, (740) 593-4944, oldham@ohio.edu for more information

ATHENS, Ohio (May 22, 2000) -- WOUB Radio was awarded First Place for Best Series in Arts & Cultural Affairs by the Ohio Educational Telecommunications Network Commission. Assistant Professor of Telecommunications Sandra Sleight-Brennan accepted the award for the series "Countdown to Millennium," which she produced. The awards ceremony was held May 16 at the Ohio Statehouse.

"Countdown to Millennium" aired on WOUB from September through December 1999 to "count down" to the year 2000. It focused on the history of southeast Ohio in the 20th century -- the first century in which we have been able to record voices. The 16-part feature series covered topics ranging from unionization of the coal fields, to the Millfield Mine disaster, to sustainable agriculture.

The "Countdown to Millennium" radio series grew out of an oral history collection project that the School of Telecommunications did in conjunction with high and middle schools in Federal Hocking, Vinton and Meigs Local school districts, and Rural Action. Students interviewed area residents and designed a Web page for each person interviewed. Students in Ohio University's Schools of Telecommunications and Journalism created Web pages for some of the communities involved in the project. The Web site they created is available at www.frognet.net/countdown

The "Countdown to Millennium" radio series was a joint project between the School of Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Center. It was made possible by a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council.

The OET network links Ohio's 12 educational television stations, 32 educational radio stations and nine radio reading services in a statewide system. OET was formed to foster the growth and development of public telecommunications in Ohio and to provide all Ohio citizens with access to the services provided by public stations. The awards are given each year in honor of the best state programming.

A CD of the series and a study guide are being made available by Educational Technology Service of Ohio (ETSEO) to all 400 schools in the Appalachian Ohio region. Copies can be purchased for $10 at local bookstores or by contacting the School of Telecommunications. WOUB-FM will be re-broadcasting the series from June 19th through July 10th during "Afternoon Edition."

You can find Web sites featuring the "Countdown to Millennium" project at: http://woub.org, and visit www.oet.edu/awards.html for a complete list of the OET honorees.