Three BECA professors win national Broadcast Education Association awards
Three faculty members in the Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department have won four top awards from the national Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts competition.
SF State is tied with University of Oklahoma for the most faculty awards in the annual competition. Faculty members from only two other colleges in California, CSU Northridge and Santa Clara University, are honored.
Visiting Professor David Dunaway’s “Pete Seeger: How Can I Keep from Singing?” wins first place in the Radio Documentary category and a Best of Festival King Foundation Award. As one of 15 Best of Festival honorees, Dunaway will receive $1000 and Avid Technologies editing software. Dunaway, a longtime biographer of folk singer Seeger, produced the radio series that debuted in summer and fall 2008 on Public Radio International. His winning series will air from 11am to 3pm May 3 on KPFA-FM 94.1. Dunaway will give a free lecture on “Writing vs. Broadcasting Pete Seeger” at 3pm May 9 at the SF State Downtown Campus, Room 609.
Assistant Professor Dina Ibrahim’s “What About the Arab-American Vote?” wins first place in Radio: Feature News Reporting. Her story aired Oct. 16 on KPOO-FM 89.5 in San Francisco, focusing on the perspectives of the area’s Arab and Muslim communities before the November 2008 election. Ibrahim is co-host and co-producer of “Arab Talk” on KPOO.
Assistant Professor Jeff Jacoby wins first place in Audio: Long Form Production for “The Traveling Radio Show Goes to San Francisco!” The production, part of Jacoby’s long running syndicated series, was co-produced by several SF State students and funded in part by a California State University mini-grant. His winning show will air at 8pm April 30 on KQED-FM 88.5, a National Public Radio affiliate in San Francisco.
Two SF State students were also honored in the festival’s student competition. Nina Soriano receives second place in the Documentary Long Form student category for “Amores de Dolores.” Melinda Quesenberry receives third place in the Documentary Short Form student category for “Africa Alive.”
“These awards reinforce San Francisco State University’s Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Department as the nation’s premier institution for studying electronic media,” said Kurt Daw, dean of the SF State College of Creative Arts. “We are proud that our faculty members are recognized for their professional work, which has a direct and significant impact on our students.”
Competition winners will receive their awards at the Broadcast Education Association annual convention, April 22-25 in Las Vegas. This year’s festival competition received a record 878 submissions in 13 categories.
