UATV Awarded Two Mid-America Emmys and Two Honorable Mentions

Back row, from left: Beau Russell, field producer; Ella Marshall, digital content manager; Ben Sawyers, station manager; Elena Thompson, news director. Front row: Camryn Johnson, sports director; Kye Kocher, volunteer coordinator; Yael Even, field producer; Allyson Roach, assistant news director.

The UATV news staff received the Mid-America Emmy for College Newscast, another Emmy for College Non-Fiction Longform and two honorable mentions.

The 2022 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded UATV with best newscast for its coverage of a tornado that touched down in Springdale in late March.

The newscast had live reporter coverage of the damage left by an EF-3 tornado that whipped through Springdale and Johnson on Wednesday morning, March 30. Seven people were injured, a school was demolished, power lines and trees were down on the ground. The Enhanced Fujita Scale estimated winds at 185-206 miles per hour.

The Emmy for College Non-Fiction Longform was awarded to Obed Lamy, who holds a Master of Arts in journalism from U of A.

Obed Lamy

Shane White

Rylie Birdwell

His short historical documentary, Once Forgotten, is told from the perspective of racial violence in America. The film is about three enslaved men who were lynched, accused of killing a white enslaver by the state of Arkansas in 1856.

Honorable mention in the same category, College Non-Fiction Longform, was awarded to Shane White for his U of A's master thesis documentary, Beautiful People, about the perception of beauty and how it comes in all shapes, sizes, color and mentality.

Recent U of A graduate and KARK4news-FOX16 Little Rock reporter Rylie Birdwell won an honorable mention for College Multimedia Journalist for a UATV package about the university's Inspirational Chorale that focuses on music traditions from Southern Black gospel.

The UATV's founder and chair of the U of A's School of Journalism and Strategic Media, Larry Foley, said getting journalism awards never gets old.

"The Mid-America region is extremely competitive," Foley said. "This award shows the quality of our student work and the type of instruction and guidance they receive from our faculty."

The Mid-America chapter includes television markets in six states.

2022 AWARDS

College Newscast

Student Production Awards Winner — UATV newscast of March 30, 2022, University of Arkansas Television staff 

College Non-Fiction Longform

Student Production Awards Winner — Once Forgotten, Obed Lamy, director, editor, cinematographer
Honorable Mention — Beautiful People, Shane White, director, shooter, editor

College Multimedia Journalist

Honorable Mention — Inspire Chorale, UATV, Rylie Birdwell, MMJ/Reporter. 

"We are a destination journalism school with incredible facilities. When students come here, they know they will be pushed to do honorable, award-winning work that matters," said Foley, who was inducted into the Mid-America Emmy Silver Circle in 2017.  

The Regional Emmy Awards ceremony will be held Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Hyatt Regency in St. Louis, Missouri.