Two television productions created by students in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University were honored at the 2009 Emmy Awards given by the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The work was among five Cronkite School productions nominated in the Student Production category. Another student documentary was nominated in a professional category for cultural documentaries.

The chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gives Emmys each year to professional broadcasters to reward excellence in broadcasting in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and El Centro, Calif. Student work also is recognized.

The top-ranked student work included an edition of Cronkite NewsWatch, the school’s student newscast that airs on ASUtv Cox 116 and Eight/KAET, Arizona’s public television station, and a program about South Africa produced by a group of students who traveled to that country in the summer of 2008 as part of a special projects class.

The newscast was produced by students Michael Pelton and Joshua Zuber, and the South Africa program was produced by Jennifer Wahl and reported by Carolyn Carver, Amber Dixon and Emily Graham. It was aired on Eight/KAET. 

Sue Green, broadcast director for Cronkite News Service and one of two professors who accompanied students to South Africa, said the trip gave students the opportunity to “tell some amazing stories about the challenges facing the people” of that country.

The students arrived in South Africa right after a series of xenophobic attacks when minorities were flocking to refugee camps, Green said. “They tackled a difficult topic, but they handled it with professionalism and compassion,” she said. “They told stories that will resonate with viewers long after the show is over. This award shows them that hard work and great storytelling is what great journalism is all about. I think Walter Cronkite would be very proud of the work they did.”

The other student programs nominated for Emmy recognition were documentaries produced by students in Professor John Craft’s documentary production classes in the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009.  

One of them, “The Torn Identity,” about transgender individuals, was of such high quality Craft said it was entered in a professional category rather than as student work. The students traveled to Trinidad, Colo., to interview one of the country’s foremost surgeons who work on transgender cases.

The complete list of Cronkite student Emmy nominees: 

Cronkite NewsWatch

Tuesday April 28, 2009

Michael Pelton and Joshua Zuber, producers

Cronkite NewsWatch Sports: Spring Training 2009

March 9, 2009

Samantha Brodie, Madelyn Burke, Ryan Cody, JW Cox, Harris Feibischoff, Andrew Filler, Eric Fink, Nicholas Landauer, Frank Morales, Erisa Nakano, Jeff Skrzypek, Mathew Waggoner

“Click for a Soul Mate” about online dating services

Laura Kennedy, Andre Barker and Erica Nwosu

Spring 2009

“South Africa: At the Crossroads of Hate and Hope” about xenophobia in South Africa

Jennifer Wahl, producer

Carolyn Carver, Amber Dixon and Emily Graham, reporters

Summer 2008

“Staring Shadows” about homeless people who live and panhandle on Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz.

Michelle Algazi, producer, and Ester Blue, director 

Spring 2009

“The Torn Identity” about individuals caught in transgender identity crises

Jillian Sloan, producer; Chris Parkinson, director; and Zak Markey, videographer.

Fall 2008

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