UA Professor Wins National Broadcast Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences made another strong showing at the recent 2016 Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas.

Dr. Michael Bruce, UA assistant professor of telecommunication and film, won Best of Festival in the BEA Faculty Sports Competition for his production of TideSports.com TV. The 30-minute episodes aired on WVUA 23 twice weekly during the 2015 Alabama football season.

Bruce worked in conjunction with The Tuscaloosa News/TideSports.com and WVUA23 to produce the series.

“I know viewers watched the show because they wanted to hear expert analysis of Crimson Tide football from the TideSports.com sports writers,” said Bruce. “Jenn Chapman, the host of the show, developed a rapport with Cecil Hurt, Tommy Dees, Ben Jones and Aaron Suttles from the Tuscaloosa News that kept the show fun and entertaining. I am honored to win a Best of Festival in the faculty sports category because I know the quality of work my colleagues in the BEA Sports Division produce.”

UA telecommunication and film students Shanrica Evans, a junior from Decatur, Georgia, and Jack Royer, a sophomore from Birmingham, received honorable mention for their submissions in the student script writing and student news categories, respectively. The Capstone video production class taught by Nick Corrao, UA instructor, produced a narrative titled “Brewing” and received honorable mention for their work.

For the past 10 years, University of Alabama students have been in the top three schools for number of awards received at the festival.

The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international refereed exhibition of faculty creative activities and a national showcase for student work. The Festival provides a venue for exhibition of winning submissions, including recognition of project authors, through showcase and awards sessions held during BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas. The Festival seeks to enhance and extend creative activities, teaching, and professional standards in broadcasting and other forms of electronically mediated communication.