If you're familiar with KGOU's student-produced public affairs program Assignment: Radio, then you already know we have some talented student broadcasters taking the university course known internally as Radio News.
But to banish any doubts, here's proof: In the National Broadcasting Society (Alpha Epsilon Rho) annual student competition, Assignment: Radio reporters won national awards for their work in 2012.
A One-Word Prompt
Each semester, the course instructor, KGOU General Manager Karen Holp, and the programming staff come up with a single word that can have many meanings; in the spring of 2012 that word was "loss". Assignment: Radio producer Meredith Everitt and reporter Lauren Abram took first place nationally in the Audio Magazine Program category for "Word of the Day: Loss", in which they each produced segments that reflect different meanings of the word. From Meredith's report "Memory Loss":
"Even when using our complete arsenal of mental tools, life can be a challenge. When minor memory problems develop into serious ones, the effects can be disruptive and even life-threatening. Currently, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, with 5.4 million diagnosed. That number is climbing as the nation’s median age rises."
Lauren took a lighter approach with "You Win When You Lose" about a chess club:
"The game of chess is fueled by individual strategy and skill, making a loss particularly personal. However, many players are able to look past the disappointment and see the good in defeat."
Sound-Rich Feature
Reporter Michael Rymer earned an Honorable Mention in the Audio Feature category for "The Art of Foley", which he produced for the "audio-rich reporting" assignment. Michael interviewed a Hollywood Foley Artist who happened to be at OU as a guest lecturer, Kini Kay, who describes the job this way:
"Foley is synchronized sounds that can be created in a studio, in a stage. We replace, or sweeten as we’d say, all the footsteps, all the props, all the cloth movement, kisses, handshakes, pats on the back. Basically [it] mostly consists of footsteps and props, and most people don’t realize all those footsteps are recreated and edited before they hear it."
Winners were announced at the NBS national conference March 13 in Washington, D.C.
It's very gratifying to help these talented students learn about audio storytelling, explore audio techniques and gain experience for their future careers. Congratulations to Michael, Meredith and Lauren -- we're proud of you!
