UMTV news program wins national award

The UMTV news program, NewsVision, recently was awarded the National Broadcasting Society’ first prize in newscasting.

UMTV, the University’s on-campus television station, has produced NewsVision for the past 10 years. This is the fifth time they have taken first place in the live newscasting category.

“Because the program has won so many times, we have to make it better every year,” said producer of the show and Broadcast Journalism junior Maureen Capasso. “We are proud to have won it again for UM.”

As recipients of the award, six communication students and two faculty members working on the show were invited to go to the awards ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. Chris Osborne, of CNN, was the emcee for the ceremony.

The students attended a four-day conference where personalities of the industry, such as Jeffrey Kofman of ABC News and UM alumnus Brian Hegner of Fox Sports, gave lectures on production, networking and marketing.

In addition to contributing to the success of the NewsVision show, executive producer Garrett Russo also received an honorable mention in the category of News Package.

The competition was open to all chapters of AERho, the national broadcasting honors society, of which Capasso is the UM chapter president. It is a very competitive society, as more than 100 schools have chapters, including University of Florida and Penn State.

Capasso and Garrett stress the importance of the contributions of the people they work with on the show. “Carolyn Cefalo, our advisor, is tremendous,” says Capasso. “She keeps us in line, and definitely should be recognized for the success of the show.”

Students participating in UMTV are working hard to make next year’s show even bigger and better. “It’s important to realize that it’s entirely campus-run,” says Capasso. “The next time you pass someone filming on campus, you might end up on an award-winning show!”

The trophy NewsVision won will be displayed in the School of Communication.

You can catch NewsVision on channel 24 (on campus) at 7:00 pm on Thursdays.