KOMU Earns Three Emmy Awards; Missouri Journalism Student-Producer Among Journalists Honored

Holly Edgell Radio-TV Journalism Faculty Sarah Hill KOMU Staff Scott Schaefer KOMU Adjunct Faculty Stacey Woelfel Radio-TV Journalism Faculty

Links

Edward R. Murrow Awards KOMU Mid-America Chapter, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Missouri Broadcasters Association Society of Professional Journalists University of Missouri-Rolla

Columbia, Mo. (Nov. 15, 2007) -- At a school where students learn by doing, education often has its rewards.

KOMU, mid-Missouri's NBC station and the only University-owned commercial network affiliate in the United States, claimed three Emmy Awards from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Oct. 20 in St. Louis. Among those honored was Thad Kemlage, a Missouri Journalism senior and student producer at KOMU.

Thad Kemlage with his 2007 Emmy Award.

The station, which also doubles as a working laboratory for students at the Missouri School of Journalism, received two Emmys for Mercy in Motion, a special series by anchor Sarah Hill and videographer Scott Schaefer, both adjunct faculty members at the School. The series followed a group of volunteers who donated time and supplies in Vietnam. Hill and Schaefer traveled to Vietnam for the series and turned their footage into a half-hour special. These were Hill's third and fourth Emmys and Schaefer's first two Emmys.

The highlight of the awards gala was the Emmy for the best evening newscast in a small market, which Kemlage shared with Holly Edgell, KOMU executive producer and assistant professor of radio-television journalism at the School. The Academy honored Kemlage and Edgell for their coverage last year of a possible terror threat, later disproved, on the campus of the University of Missouri-Rolla.

In all, KOMU was nominated for six Emmys, the most since the station's first broadcast in December 1953.

"It's always an honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award," said Marty Siddall, KOMU general manager. "To be awarded three Emmys is a true testament to our staff's hard work and dedication. The awards help demonstrate KOMU's on-going mission to serve our viewers with integrity and excellence."

The awards were also a reminder of KOMU's dual goals of providing high-quality news and entertainment to mid-Missouri and educating the next generation of broadcast professionals, said Stacy Woelfel, KOMU news director and radio-television journalism instructor.

"Sarah and Holly not only teach their students how to put together and deliver a powerful story and newscast, they show by example," Woelfel said. "Their wins and the wins of Scott and student producer Thad Kemlage are only a couple of examples of how their work exemplifies the quality that is the cornerstone of KOMU News."

In addition to the 2007 Emmys, KOMU and its professional and student journalists have received numerous regional and national honors for reporting, including national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and recognitions from the Missouri Broadcasters Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Missouri Broadcast Educators Association.

Related

Oct. 12, 2007: Missouri Journalism Students Earn 30 Awards in Statewide Professional Competition Taking on top professional journalists from across the state, the Columbia Missourian's student writers, designers and photographers claimed 30 awards in this year's Missouri Press Association (MPA) Better Newspaper Contest. [More]

Sept. 5, 2007: Senior Wins $5,000 Newhouse Foundation Scholarship from NABJ Jamille Fields, a Missouri School of Journalism senior from St. Louis, was one of five recipients of a $5,000 Newhouse Foundation Scholarship awarded by the National Association of Black Journalists. The Newhouse Foundation Scholarship honors talented African-American students majoring in print journalism. [More]

June 29, 2007: Missouri School of Journalism Places Second Overall in 2006-2007 Hearst Competition, Wins $22,750 in Prizes The Missouri School of Journalism placed second overall in the 2006-2007 Hearst Journalism Awards Program, a national collegiate journalism competition that culminated with finals held in San Francisco, Calif., June 4-10. Leading the effort was senior photojournalism major Ben Fredman, who won $4,000 for his second-place finish in the national photojournalism championship. [More]

June 28, 2007: KBIA Wins Second National Edward R. Murrow Award Senior radio-television major August Skamenca and Matt Wynn, BJ '07, won a 2007 national Murrow Award for their month-long collaborative investigation "Dead Voters" that aired on KBIA, the School's NPR-affiliate station that serves as a training lab for students. The award is the second for Skamenca, who worked with KBIA news director Sarah Ashworth and former reporter Kyle Palmer, BJ '05, on a story that won the station's first national Murrow in 2006. The Murrow Awards are highly competitive, and winners regularly include CBS Radio News, ABC News Radio and major stations throughout the country. [More]

June 15, 2007: KOMU Faculty and Students Win 13 Heart of America Awards from the Kansas City Press Club Missouri School of Journalism radio-television journalism faculty and students recently took home 13 Heart of America Awards - including top honors for Best Newscast and second place for Best Web Site - for work produced and aired on KOMU. [More]

June 15, 2007: Missouri Broadcasters Association Awards KOMU, KBIA Top Honors The Missouri Broadcasters Association (MBA) recently gave KOMU top honors for its newscast, weathercast and feature reporting. MBA encourages the highest standards in broadcasting by recognizing samples of excellence and achievement. Hundreds of entries from across the state are received each year and considered for the awards. [More]

May 14, 2007: Missouri Journalism Students Dominate Annual College News Design Contest Students from the Missouri School of Journalism recently swept the 19th-annual College News Design Contest, winning more awards than any other college or university and capturing first place in both the overall newspaper design and redesign competitions. The 2007 competition drew more than 700 submissions from colleges and universities across the United States. [More]

May 14, 2007: 17 Missouri Journalism Students, One Local Media Outlet Claim Mark of Excellence Awards from Regional Society of Professional Journalists Ten stories and one KBIA newscast by Missouri Journalism students are in contention for 2007 national Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists after winning this year's regional SPJ competition. [More]

April 19, 2007: KOMU Earns Regional Edward R. Murrow Award The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) recently awarded KOMU-TV a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Series, the station's fourth Murrow in five years. KOMU, an NBC affiliate, is the only university-owned commercial television station in the United States that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students. [More]

April 19, 2007: Student Reporters at KBIA Radio Win Four Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards Four Missouri School Journalism students working at KBIA radio competed with professionals and brought home top honors. Seniors Ryan Famuliner and August Skamenca, along with recent graduates Hayley Salvo, BJ '06, and Bente Birkeland, MA '06, each won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). [More]

April 19, 2007: Missouri Journalism Students Top List of Recent Hearst Journalism Award-Winners Seniors Ryan Famuliner and Ryan Kruger placed third and 11th in the Television Broadcast II Competition, respectively. Meanwhile, senior Matthew Jarzemsky earned fourth in the Personality/Profile Writing Competition, and sophomore Sean Powers took 14th in the Radio II Competition. [More]

April 2, 2007: Missouri Journalism Senior Wins National American Advertising Federation Internship Senior Katie Roehrick, a strategic communication major from Kansas City, Mo., received a 2007 Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Internship in advertising. Roehrick will spend 10 weeks working in the advertising department of The Los Angeles Times. In addition, she will receive $1,500 in May to help cover moving and living expenses and a $4,000 salary over the course of the internship. [More]

March 5, 2007: Columbia Missourian Sports Section Wins National Award The Columbia Missourian sports staff scored a national award from the Associated Press Sports Editors' (APSE) annual contest, which took place Feb. 26-28 in Long Beach, Calif. APSE named the Columbia Missourian one of the top 20 Sunday sports sections in the country among papers with a circulation of less than 40,000. [More]

Feb. 27, 2007: Four Missouri Journalism Students Win Scholarships in Hearst Foundation Journalism Competition Four Missouri Journalism students recently received top honors from two Hearst Journalism Awards competitions. Seniors Ben Fredman and John Tully won first and ninth places, respectively, in the news/sports photojournalism competition. Senior Jenifer Langosch took first place in the sportswriting competition while senior Doug Meigs earned seventh. [More]

Jan. 31, 2007: Ace Copy Editor Wins National Scholarship The American Copy Editors Society recently named Missouri School of Journalism senior Krysten Chambrot a winner in the organization's annual national scholarship competition. Chambrot, a newspaper journalism major from Miramar, Fla., is one of four students in the United States to receive a $1,000 scholarship from ACES this year. A panel of professional copy editors selected the winners based on commitment to copy editing as a career, work experience in copy editing and copy-editing ability. [More]

Dec. 8, 2006: Skamenca Wins National Unity Award for Coverage of Minority Affairs August Skamenca, a KBIA reporter and senior radio-television journalism major from Denver, Colo., is the first Missouri School of Journalism student to receive a national Unity Award in Media from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo. His award-winning story, "Odyssey of Oppression," is an in-depth look at human smuggling in the central United States. [More]

Nov. 3, 2006: Radio-Television Professors Earn Emmy for Tsunami Coverage The Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recently awarded an Emmy for best specialty program outside a newscast to radio-television journalism faculty members, Sarah Hill and Gary Grigsby. Both teach at KOMU-TV, the only university-owned commercial television station in the United States that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students. [More]