IBNA Awards 2014


04/20/2015

In competition with stations from throughout Iowa's largest markets, the KALA Veterans Day special program "In Their Own Words: Voices of Our Veterans" was honored with two first-place Iowa Broadcast News Association Awards on April 18 (for broadcasts in 2014).

KALA is the public radio station at St. Ambrose. The Veterans Day program won first place in the Public Affairs large-market broadcast category and first place for Best Use of Online Media in the same large-market division.

The 90-minute program included audio interviews with nine Quad City area veterans from World War II through the present Middle East conflicts. The program was produced by Johnna Kerres '09, a production specialist for the Radio and Television Department, and Dave Baker '88, the KALA station manager. Students Shelby Shepherd, Shelby Steger, Mitch Widmeier and Aly Blech helped produce the program.

The online complement to the program featured video segments of the veteran interviews.

Widmeier also was honored with four first-place awards in the IBNA collegiate divisions for radio and television, completing a remarkably decorated spring. A senior majoring in radio and television, Widmeier also has been honored at the national and regional levels for his sportscasting work at SAU.

In March, Widmeier became the first St. Ambrose student honored as a finalist at the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Awards. His "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" program broadcast on was one of 10 college-produced sports talk shows honored nationwide at a ceremony in New York City.

In April, he won two Eric Severeid Awards in the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association contest, one for "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" and another for his play-by-play coverage of St. Ambrose sports events. The association covers a six-state region.

At the state level, Widmeier won first place in the Student TV division for play-by-play, and first place in the Student Radio division for sports coverage, sports play-by-play and, along with Shelby Shepherd, first place for best newscast on the program "KALA This Week."

The SAUtv staff also was awarded second place for overall excellence, while other student award winners in the TV division included: Danielle Baresel, third place for coverage of a pair of political debates at Galvin Auditorium in October; Ryan McEvoy, third place for sports coverage; and Shepherd, third place for general reporting for a story on preventing sexual assault on college campuses.

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