news release

RELEASED: April 18, 2007

EAU CLAIRE — Students in the "Radio and Television News Editing" course at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire received an Eric Severeid Award of Merit in the Best Newscast-Student News Market category from the Northwest Broadcast News Association at this year's Midwest Journalism Conference held March 23-24. The award was for an "Update News" broadcast.

UW-Eau Claire students competed against students from Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. The Midwest Journalism Conference is the second largest regional journalism conference in the United States.

Communication and journalism assistant professor Jack Kapfer, who teaches the course, accepted the award. Also attending the conference were members of the UW-Eau Claire chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, including president Heidi Bohl, Chippewa Falls, secretary Nathaniel Shuda, Wisconsin Rapids, print vice president Tara Bannow, Suamico, and co-faculty adviser, professor emeritus David Gordon.

In February, the same broadcast received second place in the Television Newscast category in the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association 2007 Student Awards for Excellence. In that competition, the "Update News" segment was up against newscasts produced by students from other schools in Wisconsin.

According to Kapfer, the entire class contributed to the broadcast with news packages, writing, anchoring and the technical jobs involved in putting the newscast on the air.

Radio and Television News Editing is one of the required courses in the communication and journalism department for the broadcast journalism major and minor at UW-Eau Claire. Students produce and anchor newscasts as well as work behind the scenes running cameras, audio, tape machines and the switcher. Throughout the semester, students create news packages that air on two 30-minute newscasts each week. The newscasts cablecast live on Eau Claire's Community Television Public Access channel on Charter Cable.

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NC/NW

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