James Fox, Campus Carrier deputy news editor
Nathanael Mooney, Campus Carrier staff writer
Berry’s student media were invited to New Orleans, La. to attend the yearly College Media Association (CMA) National Student Media Convention last week. Three of Berry’s student media outlets won awards for organizational excellence and 15 students won individual awards for their student media work.
Multiple members of Berry’s student media attended, including Senior Lecturer of Communication and Advisor to Student Media Kevin Kleine. At the conference, members of student media were given the opportunity to connect with students from across the country.
Kleine said the conference lived up to his expectations.
“It was well attended,” Kleine said. “I think Berry students learned a good bit, met some peers and exchanged information that, hopefully, will lead to improved products for the Berry community.”
One of the highlights of the event was the Pinnacle Awards. Three of Berry’s student media outlets placed as finalists in their respective categories. The Campus Carrier earned 3rd place in Weekly Newspaper of the Year, Valkyrie earned 3rd place in Feature Magazine of the Year, and Viking Fusion earned 2nd place in TV Station of the Year and Website of the Year. Berry media have a history of placing well at the annual conference.
“This is the second time that the Carrier and Valkyrie have been up for the top award in their specific field,” Steven Hames, the Viking Fusion advisor said. “This is the fifth time Viking Fusion has been up for the TV station of the year. This is also the first time our website has been recognized.”
The recognition provided by the Pinnacle Awards is important both for Berry and its students.
“[The Pinnacle Awards] bring recognition to Berry and the Department of Communication,” Hames said. “As we’re recruiting students to come to Berry, we can show them they don’t have to go to a large school to be able to do great, award winning work.”
Berry student media staff members received 15 individual Pinnacle Awards, including five first place recognitions. The awards were given out on the second and third day of the conference with plenty of other sessions in between. Student awards are a big deal for recipients as recognition of what they are capable of.
“For the students, there’s a sense of pride that they have work that has been considered some of the best in the country,” Hames said. “Ultimately as [students] go out into the workforce they can say ‘hey, I did this, and because of this I’ve got talent, I’ve got work I can bring to either graduate school or an employer.’”
The sessions focused on a wide variety of topics, ranging from review writing to connecting with interview subjects using empathy. The sessions were informational not only to the student attendees but also to many of the faculty attendees.
“I got some really good ideas from a session that was held by a staff member at the University of Alabama, and it was about integrating new and innovative ways to increase your revenue stream through advertising, marketing and promotions for your student media products,” Kleine said.
When not attending sessions, many of the student attendees met at exchange tables to look over each other’s work and to form bonds with other publications. Kleine said that he felt like these connections served as a great way for students to learn from one another.
“I think the human contact with other peers and other institutions and those relationships continuing over time so that [students] can bounce ideas off of each other throughout the rest of the academic year are even more valuable and open students up to wider opportunities,” Kleine said.
As the conference ended, students left inspired and motivated to continue their service to the community.
“For all of Berry student media participants — from reporters, to photographers, editors, videographers, directors, the whole shabang — I’m really proud of the work they have produced over the [past] year, and I am looking forward to some exciting coverage in the future by all of our student media,” Kleine said.