WASHINGTON – Eight recent Howard University graduates are recipients of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Student Production Awards. The honor was presented by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter (NCCB) live on Facebook on Wednesday, September 22. The NCCB Chapter also presents the NATAS Emmy^® Awards recognizing professional television news excellence for the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. region.

The college Student Production Awards were for the categories news report-news, multimedia journalist (MMJ) and commercial. The winning entrees were produced in the capstone broadcast journalism class, NewsVision, under the instruction of Jennifer Thomas, associate professor for the department of Media, Journalism, and Film. Each of the entries was produced when the University was in an all-virtual modality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent alumnae are currently working as journalists and media professionals or continuing their education in graduate school.

Eight students in the Spring 2020 cohort reported and produced a special COVID-19 report weeks after the University closed and the students were remanded to their hometowns. Fall 2020 student Samantha Chaney (now attending Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism) profiled a first-year Washington, D.C. kindergarten teacher who navigated online teaching. Chaney and two others also produced a news commercial for the class’ final virtual newscast, which featured them as students-turned-reporters during the pandemic.

“I’m so proud of the students in NewsVision who worked under unprecedented circumstances to produce such an exceptional body of work,” says Ingrid Sturgis, associate professor and chair of the Department of Media, Journalism and Film.

The recipients and their projects include:

News Report - Serious News

NEWSVISION SPECIAL REPORT: COVID-19’s Impact In Communities Across the Country  

Tia Humphries, Producer/Editor/Reporter

Journey Rucker, Reporter 

Shayla Farrow, Reporter

Tai Spears, Reporter 

Tatiana Swain, Reporter 

(All HU ’20)

Multimedia Journalist (MMJ)

A Day In The Life of a Virtual School Teacher   

Samantha Chaney, reporter/producer (HU ’21)

Commercial

NewsVision Promo Fall 2020 

Samantha Chaney, Editor/Producer (HU ’21) 

Corrin Jones, reporter (HU Fall ’20) 

Jaquatte Williams, Reporter  (HU ’21)

Thomas says, despite having to conduct the six-credit news production course in a virtual modality, the students rose to the occasion. “We stress to our students that it’s our role as journalists to keep the public informed, even during a pandemic. These awards underscore what we Media, Journalism, and Film faculty strive for – to ensure Howard students are prepared, professional and ready for the real world."

NewsVision partners with WHUT-TV, which broadcasts to more than 2.5 million viewers in the Washington metropolitan area. Their work is also distributed through the Howard University News Service and in partnership with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a coalition of more than 200 Black press outlets across the country.

View the announcements below:

http://www.capitalemmys.tv/students/student-production-awards/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=295810611879747 or https://fb.watch/8i5G1L1Qpd/

(Photos of NATAS Student Production Awards Source: Jennifer Thomas/Howard University)

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

About the Department of Media, Journalism and Film

The Department of Media, Journalism and Film is the largest unit in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University. Its faculty and alumni include award-winning, internationally renowned filmmakers, journalists, media producers, documentarians and research scholars. The department offers one of the top MFA programs in film and the only one at an HBCU. It was named as having one of the best university cinematography programs. USA Today and College Factual has ranked the journalism program among the top 20 nationally, and the National Association of Black Journalists ranked the program as No. 1 in the United States. The Broadcast Education Association honored WHBC student radio with the Signature Station Award. Howard is one of two universities in Washington and among seven HBCUs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Media Contact: Aaliyah Butler; aaliyah.butler@howard.edu