An Elon School of Communications student finished in the Top 10 nationally in the 2006-07 William Randolph Hearst Foundation's television broadcast competition. Follow this link to read more about Brian Formica's accomplishment...
Senior Brian Formica of Plumsteadville, Pa., finished 10th among 57 television broadcast entries submitted nationally. The top 10 finalists, in order, were from Arizona State, North Carolina, Nebraska, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Western Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, Maryland and Elon.
Elon students became eligible for the Hearst Awards competition for the first time this year when the School of Communications formally gained national accreditation in May 2006. Only students in programs recognized by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) can compete in the Hearst competitions.
Formica’s entry consisted of three features that were broadcast on Phoenix14News, Elon’s weekly student newscast selected as the best in the nation at the 2006 Broadcast Education Association convention in Las Vegas. One piece focused on the ratemyprofessor.com web site, another on the Elon roller hockey team that drives 45 minutes to practice, and the third on a 7-foot basketball recruit in which Formica’s standup included climbing a ladder to illustrate just how tall a 7-footer is.
Formica’s broadcast news teacher, Assistant Professor of Communications Rich Landesberg, congratulated Formica for the honor, saying, “He is an excellent student, and I could not be more proud of how hard Brian has worked and how much he has accomplished.”
For finishing in the Top 10 nationally, Formica will receive $500, with a matching grant going to the School of Communications.
The professional judges were Linda Sullivan, president and general manager of KNTV-TV in San Francisco; Tom Negovan, anchor and reporter for WGN-TV in Chicago; and Felicia Middlebrooks, morning anchor and correspondent for WBBM News Radio 780 in Chicago. The Hearst Foundation is based in San Francisco.
Students at more than 100 ACEJMC-accredited institutions were eligible to participate in the 2006-07 television broadcast competition. The Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program also includes writing and news photography competitions, now in progress, with awards totaling more than $450,000 a year in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.