Southeastern Channel news reporter wins LAB scholarship
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
by: Tonya Lowentritt
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT - Amairi Cordova, a Southeastern Louisiana University junior from New Orleans, was one of only two recipients of 2015 Louisiana Association of Broadcasters scholarships. Cordova was awarded his scholarship at the association’s annual Prestige Awards luncheon in Baton Rouge attended by the top television and radio broadcasters in the state.
HAMMOND – A student television news reporter at Southeastern Louisiana University
has been named one of only two recipients of 2015 Louisiana Association of Broadcasters
scholarships.
Amairi Cordova of New Orleans, a member of the reporting team at the Southeastern
Channel, was presented the award in Baton Rouge recently at the LAB’s annual Prestige
Awards luncheon.
The $4,000 scholarship will go toward his junior year at Southeastern as he continues
his studies and practices his chosen craft.
A communication major with a focus in electronic media, Cordova reports for “Northshore
News,” named one of the top four college newscasts in the nation by College Broadcasters,
Inc. and “Best in the South” by the Southeast Journalism Conference, which includes
universities from eight southern states.
Cordova has also worked on the Southeastern Channel’s award-winning student entertainment
show, “College Night.” He has hosted a blues show, “The Dirt Road,” and a campus activities
program, “The Lion’s Den,” for KSLU radio.
This is the second year in a row that a Southeastern Channel representative has
won a LAB scholarship. Last year the scholarship was awarded to Paul Rivera, who this
year was named by LAB as the top student broadcaster in Louisiana.
The Louisiana Association of Broadcasters (LAB) established the scholarship program
to support promising future broadcasters and aid them in seeking the best quality
education in the field of broadcasting. By sponsoring the award, LAB hopes to encourage
students of the highest caliber to enter broadcasting as a career and guarantee the
future quality of broadcasting in Louisiana.
“I am truly elated to be one of the recipients of the LAB scholarship,” Cordova
said. “This has given me a sense of purpose and excitement as I work toward my goals.
Receiving this award confirms that I am on the right path as I continue to pursue
my aspirations in the area of broadcasting.”
Cordova believes the experience he’s receiving at the Southeastern Channel will
help him realize his career goal of being a television news anchor.
“At the Southeastern Channel I am gaining a wealth of knowledge with regard to
reporting effective news stories, while also capturing the viewer’s attention,” Cordova
said. “In addition, I want to learn what it takes to remain objective in the news
and not introduce bias with my stories.”
“Amairi is very deserving,” said Rick Settoon, Southeastern Channel general manager.
“He’s extremely talented with a great work ethic and a promising future as a broadcast
news journalist. He has a great passion for reporting news that will both serve and
impact his community.”
In his scholarship application, Cordova had to answer questions related to his
choice of broadcasting as a career, along with questions on topics ranging from his
career goals to broadcast advertising and the role of the Federal Communications Commission,
or FCC.
“What is really intriguing to me about this field is that no two days are alike,”
Cordova said. “It is guaranteed that the same news stories covering headlines this
morning will be completely different tomorrow, and that is what I love.”
