Fulbright Journalism Department Brings Home Emmy Awards

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Students AnneDella Hines, Mary Kate Carson and Jarrett Hobbs, and Larry Foley, chair of the Department of Journalism.

Students, faculty and alumni of the Walter Lemke Department of Journalism in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences recently won multiple awards at the 2016 Mid-America Emmy Awards.

AnneDella Hines, Mary Kate Carson and Jarrett Hobbs, students in the Journalism Department, were recipients of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Student Television Award for top student newscast for UATV's coverage "Plane Crash Down in Fayetteville."

The newscast aired live on UATV News at 7 on Nov. 3, 2015, and its content was created by broadcast students in the Advance Television News Production class, the TV News Reporting 2 class and the TV News Reporting 1 class. UATV's senior staff also ensured the success of the newscast. Students had 9 hours to create a plan, dispatch reporters and execute live TV news coverage of the plane crash incident. They used Skype technology to report directly from the scene.

Additionally, professor Larry Foley, chair of the Journalism Department, won awards in both the Writing and Cultural Documentary categories for his film, The First Boys of Spring.

"I'm honored, and was a little stunned, to have been awarded two Emmys. I never expected that," Foley said. "The First Boys of Spring was a passionate project for me — a film about something I love, baseball history. In some ways, I'd been waiting on a story like this my entire career. The amount of research involved was massive, but I loved every second of working on this story."

Award-winning University of Arkansas alumni include Marci Manley, investigative reporter for KARK-KLRT in Little Rock, who won an award in the Journalistic Enterprise category. Alumnus and reporter Tevin Wooten was also on the KARK-KLRT team that won an award for weather coverage. Additionally, alumnus Clint Fullen, creative director for KHBS/KHOG Ch. 40/29 Fort Smith/Fayetteville won an award in the News Special category.

Manley said she was delighted to have her work, as well as those of her peers and mentors, recognized.

"Winning an Emmy in the category of Journalistic Enterprise is really a high point in my career as a journalist," Manley said. "For the past two years, KARK-KLRT has been building the Working 4 You and Fox 16 Investigates brands to focus solely on investigative, enterprise journalism. It's been a challenging road, but being nominated alongside impressive journalists and ultimately winning in the category is incredibly validating for the hard work our team has done."

The Emmys are a way for journalists and television professionals to have their hard work reviewed and recognized by their peers. Nominations and awards are given to the most skilled and capable individuals in the industry.

For more information about these awards, please visit emmymid-america.org.