Bree Gannon's AU vs. Mont. St.-Billings Halftime Interview

Watch AUTV 20 Sports Producer Bree Gannon's halftime interview at the NCAA Elite Eight basketball game. Bree is also the Sports Editor for The Collegian and the sideline sports reporter for WRDL 88.9 FM.

Bree recently won the First Place Award for Best Sports Interview Show (along with JDM juniors Trae Coopwood and Erich Metze and senior Renee Borcas) from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System. She also was named the Best College Sports Photojournalist in the Midwest Region by the Society for Professional Journalists.

AUTV 20's Noah Cloonan reports on AU's Elite Eight game

The JDM converged media crew are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to cover the AU Women's Basketball team's run at another NCAA championship. Led by JDM Director of Broadcasting and Operations John Skrada, the crew features junior Noah Cloonan, junior Bree Gannon, senior Tyler Lance and senior Renee Borcas.

Cloonan and Lance were this year's national finalists for the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's Best College Women's Basketball Play-by-Play coverage. Cloonan is the Managing Editor of The Collegian newspaper and the Sports Director for WRDL 88.9 FM.  Lance is the Program Director of WRDL 88.9 FM. Borcas is the Webmaster of the AULive converged website and the News Producer for AUTV 20. Gannon is the Sports Editor of The Collegian, the Sports Producer for AUTV 20, the sports sideline reporter for WRDL.88.9 FM and a host of The Early Bird's Word on WRDL.

Here is AUTV 20's Sports Anchor Noah Cloonan's report on the Eagles' first game at the Elite Eight.

Collegian and AU-Live Win Ohio News Media Association Awards

Students from the Collegian newspaper and AU-Live website won multiple awards at the Ohio News Media Association (ONMA) state convention in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 8, including third in the state for Best Website.

In the Ohio Collegiate Division, the Collegian staff also brought home a second place for overall publication design and third places in the categories of photojournalism and sports coverage.

The Collegian special edition of the women's basketball National Championship game in 2017 garnered unique praise from the judging panel, which is comprised of newsroom professionals from across the state.

“This entry is carried by the special section on the women's basketball team winning the national title,” the judges wrote. “Photos, stories, and graphic elements all make this work. Very well done.”

The paper was also recognized for strong and consistent news design and for overall sports coverage, both of which were judged using multiple issues of the submitted publication.

“Being honored in these categories especially is a big deal,” Maggie Cogar, media adviser and professional instructor in the journalism and digital media department, said. “These categories aren't just judged on one page or one story, but on multiple issues from this school year and last. Winning in these categories shows the consistency of the student work from issue to issue and school year to school year.”

Bree Gannon, a junior digital media production major, was also recognized individually for her photographs from the National Championship game.

“Hearing I was recognized from the National Championship game was a really good feeling,” she said. “Going from a major I wasn't happy in to JDM, where I can strive to my full potential and be rewarded for it, is amazing. The JDM program has truly blessed me.”

Cogar said what is most inspiring was the attitude the students had after leaving the conference.

“I'm proud of the work all my students do on a daily basis and these awards help celebrate that work,” Cogar said. “But these awards cannot truly capture the spirit and work ethic these student journalists show each and every day. Even after leaving the conference, the students were already discussing ways to improve their media content and design. There’s this mindset with JDM students that ‘we’re good, but we can be better,’ and I love that. They are constantly pushing themselves to grow.”

At the conference, students also attended sessions and got to hear from Morley Piper, a special keynote speaker who fought in World War II and later served as the director of the New England Newspaper Association.

Journalism and digital media students in attendance at the conference included (left to right) Sam Didion (sophomore), Bree Gannon (junior), Kaitlyn Moore (junior) and Renee Borcas (senior).

AUTV 20 Sports Break expands for Spring 2018

AUTV 20 SPORTS BREAK has expanded from three to five weekly telecasts in 2018. This is the second year that SPORTS BREAK has aired on the Journalism and Digital department-produced channel.

Producer-Anchors for this semester are: Noah Cloonan, Bree Gannon, Tyler Lance, Paul Murray, Justin Davis and Samantha Didion. SPORTS BREAK can be seen on AUTV 20 or on the JDM AUTV 20 Youtube channel.

AUTV 20 News Break returns for Spring 2018 semester

The AUTV 20 award-winning newscast NEWS BREAK returns for the Spring 2018 semester. AUTV Station Manager and Producer Ingrid Schmidt anchors this telecast. NEWS BREAK anchors for the semester will be Ingrid Schmidt, Renee Borcas, Tom Nesbitt, Rachel Ramsey and Jake Rayman.

Catch the program daily on AUTV 20 or on the JDM YouTube channel.

AUTV 20 and WRDL win IBS Finalist Awards

For the second year in a row, AUTV 20 and WRDL 88.9 FM were selected for multiple Finalist Awards by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System. AUTV 20 was recognized in five different categories and WRDL was honored in three different categories. AUTV 20 and WRDL faculty advisor Dr. Dave McCoy remarked that "these awards are a tribute to the hard work, dedication and creative abilities of our JDM co-curricular media students."  McCoy added that "the IBS Awards are one of the longest-running and noteworthy collegiate media competitions in the country."
JDM honorees are invited to the national convention to be held in early March in New York City. The Finalist Awards and the National First Place Awards will be handed out during the ceremony.

The following list designates the categories and the students recognized for their work.

AUTV 20
Best Use of YouTube (top 5 in the country)  Ingrid Schmidt

Best Use of Instagram (top 6)     Ingrid Schmidt

Best Talk Program (top 6)   Eagle's Eye   Waylon O'Donnell, Michaela Ping, Ingrid Schmidt

Best Newscast (Video/TV) (top 6)   AUTV 20  News Update  Renee Borcas, Connor Dunwoodie, Sean Honaker, Paul Murray. Callan Pugh, Ingrid Schmidt

Best Sports Interview Program (top 3)    The AU Wrestling Spotlight   Renne Borcas, Trae Coopwood, Erich Metze

WRDL
Best Sports Play-by-Play, Women's Basketball (top 6)   AU National Championship Game  Noah Cloonan and Tyler Lance  WRDL won this category in last year's IBS competition.

Best Event Promo (top 5)   AU Basketball   Tom Nesbitt

Best Station Promotional Poster (top 6)   WRDL Tailgate Party  WRDL Staff 

JDM congratulates December 2017 graduates

The Journalism and Digital Media department congratulates its December 2017 graduates. Vince Lester is a Digital Media Production major who hosted The Early Bird's Word morning show on WRDL and served as the production director for the station. Vince also was the audio operator for many of the AUTV 20 and Sports Time Ohio telecasts of Ashland University sporting events. Hannah Predojev is a Digital Media Journalism major who was a staff writer for The Collegian newspaper. Torin Wetzel is a Digital Media Journalism minor who wrote for The Collegian and played varsity basketball at AU.