Western Illinois University issued the following news release:
Nine Western Illinois University students accompanied National Broadcasting Society (NBS) adviser and broadcasting instructor Don Norton to the NBS Annual Meeting and competition in Anaheim, CA, during March.
It was the first time Western entered the national competition since Norton helped to re-activate the WIU NBS chapter in Fall 2003, 'to see how we measure up.'
'It's a great opportunity to see how our students' work compares with many top schools across the nation,' Norton said. 'There are 88 NBS chapters in the nation, and ours is the only chapter in Illinois. Now we're ranked the second largest chapter in the nation with 61 members.'
Western students entered projects in 11 of the categories, with seven projects advancing to the finals. Three Western finalists were judged grand prize winners.
Kyle Dierking (Chatham, IL), a December 2007 broadcasting graduate with a minor in journalism, won the grand prize for Video Sports Program for 'Pigskin Preview.' Dierking is now working for News Channel 6 in Tulsa (OK) in sports broadcasting.
'Tulsa is a high market for a recent graduate and a testimony to the quality of our program,' Norton said.
Bringing home the grand prize Audio Feature Package was senior broadcasting and journalism major Alex Degman (Northbrook, IL), with 'Macomb Peace Rally.' He also was a finalist for best Audio News Package, 'Illinois Republicans on the Gross Receipts Tax,' and Audio News Segment, 'Macomb Snow Removal.' All three of Degman's entries advanced to the national competition because each won first place in the NBS Region 5 competition in October 2007.
Senior broadcasting major and business minor Zachary Pillsbury (Chatham, IL) earned the grand prize in Audio Station Imaging for 'WIUS-FM 88.3 'The Dog Liners'.'
Senior Liz Bales (Sherrard, IL) was a finalist for Video News Package with 'Hillary Clinton Comes to Iowa,' and senior Melissa Jandt (Hanover Park, IL) was a finalist for Drama Program Script with 'Ghosty 'U' - Poltergeist.'
Norton also serves a NBS Region 5 adviser, consisting of 10 Midwestern states, which won 'Region of the Year.' That honor is based in part on inter-college cooperation and participation, Norton said.
