Students in Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications won three first place awards and four awards of excellence in the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts on Feb. 12.
Theodore Ball won first place in Radio Hard News Reporting for “Nebraska's Prison Overcrowding,” Arden Louchheim tied for first place in the Audio Sports Story/Feature/News category for “Japan's Takahashi finds golf home at Nebraska,” and Nebraska Nightly won first place in the Television Newscast (3 days a week or less) category.
Macy Byars won an award of excellence in the PSA/Commercial category for “Play LCM (Lincoln Children’s Museum),” Blake Mace won an award of excellence in Radio Feature for “Severe WX Jumps in Midwest,” and Ellen Pham and Mikee Naegele won an award of excellence for “Women's Gymnastics Transfers” in Radio Hard News Reporting. Jacht Agency also won an award of excellence in the Promotional category for “UNMC NALHD - Health Care Cash Fund.”
All winners are listed alphabetically by hometown with their year in school, major(s) and Nebraska Nightly or Jacht Agency role (if applicable):
Nebraska
- Alvo: Theodore Ball, junior, journalism, sports media and communication
- Beaver Lake: Olivia Priefert, senior, broadcasting, videographer
- Bellevue: Haley Geringer, senior, advertising and public relations, sports media and communication, photographer
- La Vista: Ellen Pham, sophomore, broadcasting
- Lexington: Leslie Con, senior, broadcasting, videographer
- Lincoln: Dominic Ferraro, senior, meteorology-climatology, weathercaster; Bennett Woody, senior, advertising and public relations, videographer
- Malcolm: Hana Maddox, sophomore, broadcasting, advertising and public relations, video editor
- Omaha: Macy Byars, senior, journalism, broadcasting; Jackson Ingvoldstad, sophomore, broadcasting, sports anchor; Lucas Sinnett, 2024 graduate, broadcasting, sports media and communication, production manager
- Papillion: Mikee Naegele, junior, film
- Shelton: Hayden Hauge, senior, broadcasting, journalism, film studies, English, director
- Sutherland: Harmon Johnsen, sophomore, broadcasting, sports media and communication, sports reporter
Elsewhere
- West Dundee, Illinois: Mackenzie Noble, senior, broadcasting, producer
- Brownsburg, Indiana: Molly Keifer, junior, broadcasting, sports media and communication, videographer
- Council Bluffs, Iowa: Blake Mace, junior, sports media and communication, broadcasting
- Knoxville, Iowa: Hayden Hudson, sophomore, broadcasting, journalism, co-anchor
- Yokosuka, Japan: Ariana Joy Cobler, senior, broadcasting, journalism, project manager
- Bel Aire, Kansas: AbbyLane Kloke, senior, advertising and public relations, multimedia strategist
- Spring, Texas: Seamus Doyle, senior, broadcasting, multimedia strategist
- Park City, Utah: Arden Louchheim, sophomore, sports media and communication
- Madison, Wisconsin: Megan Braun, senior, advertising and public relations, account executive
- Rice Lake, Wisconsin: Alaina Tomesh, 2024 graduate, broadcasting, co-anchor
The BEA Festival of Media Arts is the preeminent international media competition focused on student and faculty creative endeavors. In the last six years, over 8,000 creative works have been submitted by BEA’s more than 300 member institutions around the globe. This year, BEA received 2,285 entries (a 21% growth of 400 entries from 2024) and awarded 445 student winners from 111 colleges and universities (an increase from 80 institutions in 2024).
To learn more about the BEA Festival of Media Arts, visit https://beaweb.org/festival/.
