In the annual College Media Association awards, the Andersonian’s sports program, Raven Watch, was a finalist for “Best Video Sportscast.” In this national contest, AU was one of three finalists, standing alongside Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and California State University.
In addition to this honor, Raven Watch was selected as a winner in the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association (ICPA) awards program earlier this year. In the “Best Video” category, the show took first and second place.
“We have some incredibly talented students—16 in all—who work very hard on the show,” said Dr. David Baird, chair of the Department of Communication and Design Arts. “They take full advantage of the opportunities that our faculty, especially Jack Lugar and Kris Rinas, provide for them.”
“This is amazingly well-produced and narrated,” the ICPA awards program judges wrote. “This is better than many professional media outlets would be able to create. Nice work from the [on-camera talent].”
Senior Jordan Yaney, producer and host of Raven Watch, has been involved with the show since his sophomore year.
“Working on Raven Watch the last several years has been a huge blessing for me,” said Yaney. “The opportunity to cover sports at AU has been amazing, and the hard work the crew and I have put in has really paid off with the national recognition.”
Yaney explained that the hands-on experience of producing the show has prepared him for his future.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to work in sports media,” said Yaney, “and by getting all the experience of covering AU sports through Raven Watch, I feel like I have a great base of skills to help me achieve that dream one day.”
Junior Jonathan Williams, lead editor of Raven Watch, explained that working with the sizable Raven Watch team promotes teamwork and cooperation.
“Working with this large of a crew is what we will experience in our profession,” said Williams, “so it’s a really good learning experience for all of us to see how great of a product we can create when everyone gets involved.”
In addition to the awards that Raven Watch received, the ICPA gave more than 20 awards to the Andersonian. Many students were recognized for news stories, feature stories, editorials, photographs and podcasts.