In its first entrance to the Missouri Broadcast Educators Association (MBEA) College Media Awards Competition, Southeast Missouri State Universitys Department of Mass Media earned seven awards, including five first-place wins for the Arrow, the student newspaper of Southeast, and an additional first-place award won by a TV/Film major.The Missouri College Media Association (MCMA)/MBEA 2021 Virtual Conference was hosted by Truman State University from April 5-9.I'm excited about the Arrow's success in this contest because it was our first time entering, said Dr. Tamara Zellars Buck, faculty advisor to the Arrow, professor and chair of Southeasts Department of Mass Media. Many of the participants are traditional broadcast organizations publishing on radio and television. We are transforming the Arrow from print to multiplatform news organization, and this definitely helps to measure our success.The Department of Mass Medias TV/Film option also saw recognition during the MBEA awards, with one first-place honor for the intermediate film Goner by Southeast senior Braydon Leadbetter, which tells the story of a struggling drug addict and the mistakes that threaten to tear a family apart.I am always excited for our students when their work is recognized, said Fred Jones, professor of mass media. We have had a lot of great filmmakers at our university, and competitions like MBEA help others see their talent and open up opportunities for them to pursue their dreams after graduation.The Arrow also earned recognition for its website, several podcasts and election night coverage.Arrow editor Lucas Irizarry said the MBEA awards represent the diversity in the work produced by the Arrow and in the journalists behind that work.We aren't just a paper or a Facebook page, we're also a podcast network and videographers and photojournalists, Irizarry said. Hopefully when we win awards for things that aren't strictly journalism, it shows the diversity of people we actually have producing content.Our mass media majors are constantly producing new content of all types, and I love to see us succeed in so many ways, Buck said. These types of contests show the depth of our program and what we can offer students.MBEA awards presented to the Arrow, and the Department of Mass Media, were:
- 1st place, Best News Show, Arrow on the Air, 10/20 Clayton Hester, Clay Herrell, Josh Seabaugh, Madison Abanathie, Hannah Radden
- 1st place, Programs/Podcasts, Decomposing: Ear Adaptation Daria Lawson
- 1st place, Sports Show, Hawks Nest 11/6 - Clay Herrell, Owen Karando, Bryce Graham
- 1st place, Convergent Journalism Arrow election coverage, staff
- 1st place, Website, southeastarrow.com Madison Abanathie
- 1st place, Intermediate Film, Goner Braydon Leadbetter
- Honorable mention, Feature News Story, Cape Polar Plunge 2020 Karis Gamble