Southeastern students dominate Associated Press Awards
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
SOUTHEASTERN STUDENTS WINS AP AWARDS- Southeastern Louisiana University students dominated the 2017 Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press College Broadcasters Awards held recently at the World War II Museum in New Orleans. Southeastern students won 10 of the 19 television awards given, seven more than any other university in the two-state region, as well as a radio award. Southeastern students attending the 2018 College Journalism Conference were (from left) Taylor Washington of Baton Rouge, Amanda Triay of Big Branch, John Sartori of Mandeville, Wesley Boone of Alexandria, Freddie Rosario of Hahnville, Andrew Scherer of New Orleans, Tara Barbe of Ponchatoula, and Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University students recently won 11 awards,
including eight first-place honors, at the 2017 Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press
College Broadcasters Awards at the WWII Museum in New Orleans.
The Southeastern Channel dominated the television division from both states with
10 of the 19 awards given.
In addition to the Southeastern television winners, Matt Doyle of Mandeville
won first place in the radio competition for “Newscast” for KSLU’s “Afternoon News.”
The judges said Doyle’s piece contained strong delivery, and they really get a sense
that the reporter knew and understood the stories.
Wesley Boone of Alexandria led the way for the Southeastern Channel with four
awards, including the top award, “Best of Show in Television,” which included a cash
prize of $150. Boone also won first place for “Feature Story” for “The Andy Boone
Story” and in the “Videographer” category for his videography composite. He won second
place in the “Sports Story” category for “The Andy Boone Story.”
Regarding “The Andy Boone Story,” AP judges said, “This was such a moving story.
The reporter did an excellent job of creative storytelling and videography. It was
well written with great transitions in and out of the soundbites. Well told and well
done!”
Amanda Kitch of Covington was also a big winner, taking home two first-place
honors. She won first place in the “News Story” category for her “Courthouse and Jail
Tax” story for the Southeastern Channel’s student newscast, “Northshore News.” She
also won first-place recognition as the best “TV Reporter” for her “Northshore News”
story, “Mandeville Beach.” As producer of “Northshore News” Kitch brought home second
place in the “Newcast” category for the September 26, 2017 episode. Last year, Kitch
won “Best of Show in Television” for her work with “Northshore News.”
On Kitch’s “Mandeville Beach,” judges noted, “As a stand alone story, this one
was really, really well-done. In fact, it could air in most small market TV stations.”
Amanda Triay of Big Branch won first place in the “Documentary” category for
“To Speak Again,” her short documentary about Hammond resident Benny Latino’s remarkable
recovery of his speech after suffering a stroke.
Freddie Rosario of Hahnville and John Sartori of Mandeville won first place in
the “Sportscast or Sports Program” category for producing the Southeastern Channel’s
student sportscast “The Big Game.” Sartori co-anchored the winning November 9, 2017
episode with Dylan Domangue of Houma, while Rosario directed the show.
Judges said that “The Big Game” was “very polished, had great energy and enthusiasm,”
and that they were very impressed with the entire team.
Jordan Rheams of Baton Rouge won second place for “Videographer” with his videography
composite.
“The Associated Press has long been the preeminent organization in journalism,
so to dominate the broadcast journalism categories in this region is a great achievement
for our students,” said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon. “Our television
students work very hard in reporting and producing to tell the best stories and produce
the best programs in the region, and we’re thrilled that the AP has honored them with
these prestigious awards.”
The competition honored the best in college journalism in 2017 from Louisiana
and Mississippi with nearly 300 entries from over 20 universities and colleges in
both states, including the University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University,
Loyola University, Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
The AP represents 1,400 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States.
The awards luncheon was part of the 2018 AP Journalism Career Day that featured
television news directors, producers and reporters, along with print editors and reporters
for panel discussions and one-on-one critiques for student journalists from the two
states.
The Southeastern Channel has won over 300 national, international and regional
awards, including 17 awards from the Emmys, in its 15 years of existence. The channel
can be seen on Charter Spectrum 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and St.
Helena parishes. The live 24/7 webcast and video on demand can be seen on the channel’s
website at thesoutheasternchannel.com. The Southeastern Channel is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
