Southeastern Channel named best in the nation
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
SOUTHEASTERN CHANNEL STUDENT WORK RECOGNIZED - Southeastern Channel students Mason Dauphin of Luling (left) and Colton Vickers of Ponchatoula (right) are shown producing a segment of the student comedy show “College Night” that won first place in the nation for “Best Video Comedy” presented by College Broadcasters, Inc. at its National Student Production Awards in Seattle. It is the fifth time that the Southeastern Channel has been named first in the nation by College Broadcasters, Inc. Four other Southeastern Channel productions were National Finalists.
HAMMOND – For the fifth time the work of students at the Southeastern Channel
has been named best in the nation.
A national first-place award for “Best Comedy Video” as selected by College Broadcasters,
Inc. was recently presented to the Southeastern Channel, Southeastern Louisiana University’s
cable television station, at the 2018 National Student Production Awards presented
at the National Student Electronic Media Convention.
The student comedy show “College Night,” produced by Jordan Reid of Luling, earned
the first place honors. The episode can be viewed at http://thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2019/04/16/cn-spr2017/.
The Southeastern Channel also had four additional productions place in the top
four in the country as National Finalists out of over 950 entries from colleges and
universities across the nation.
“Mandeville Beach,” a news story by Amanda Kitch of Covington produced for the
student newscast “Northshore News,” won second place in the nation for “Best News
Reporting Video.” In 2017, Kitch won first place in the nation in the same news reporting
category. The news story can be viewed at http://thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2017/10/31/mandeville-beach/.
The March 8, 2018 episode of “The Big Game” student sportscast, produced by Freddie
Rosario of Luling, won third place in the nation for “Best Sportscast Video.” Andrew
Scherer of New Orleans, Dylan Domangue of Houma, and Richie Solares of New Orleans
anchored the winning episode. Other key contributors were reporters Wesley Boone of
Alexandria and Schuylar Ramsey of Springfield. The sportscast can be viewed at http://thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2019/01/09/the-big-game/.
A pair of public service announcements produced by Southeastern Channel students
also won National Finalist recognition. “Proud Dad,” produced by Jeremy Gaines of
New Orleans, and “Don’t Procrastinate,” produced by Jennifer Doss of Mandeville, placed
second and fourth in the nation, respectively, in the “Best PSA Video” category. “Proud
Dad” can be viewed at http://thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2018/01/10/proud-dad/, and “Don’t Procrastinate” can be viewed at http://thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2018/01/31/dont-procrastinate/.
“These awards show that students at the Southeastern Channel produce top quality
on a national scale in a variety of different shows and programs, from news and sports
to entertainment and PSA’s,” said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon.
“I’m so happy that they’ve once again received this amazing national acclaim for their
creativity, talent and hard work. They couldn’t be more deserving.”
“College Night” is a Saturday Night Live-styled sketch comedy show written, produced,
directed, shot, edited and performed by students. In addition to Reid, other key contributors
to the first-place episode were Boone, Kitch, Gaines, Mason Dauphin of Luling, John
Sartori of Mandeville, Alliyah Sims of Kentwood, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Harrison of
Baton Rouge, Mallory Milton, Tyler Guidroz and Colton Vickers of Ponchatoula, and
Courtney Bruno, Jeremy Rhodes, Hope Ramirez, Josh Hodgeson and Dustin Arroyo of New
Orleans.
The winning episode features comedy sketches ranging from a parody of Reddit’s
“Roast Me” about students at the Southeastern Channel to a parody of the television
show “Chopped.” The show also includes sketches about moviegoers who annoy and offend
each other prior to a movie, a young lady jilted by her boyfriend who resorts to garish
lipstick and eating ice cream, and a skit about students on a summer vacation who
venture into an abandoned warehouse in the woods.
“Everyone created skits they considered entertaining, so there’s a little something
for everyone,” Reid said. “We had a funny group of writers. Because we worked together
nearly every day, I think it was easy to find our strengths and discover how to work
effectively together. That camaraderie made College Night successful, and I’m sure
it will carry through with future episodes.”
A Southeastern graduate in communication with a focus in TV, film and video,
Reid now works as news producer for KATC-TV Ch. 3 in Lafayette (ABC) where she produces
the 5 p.m. newscast. As a student worker at the Southeastern Channel, she produced
the national award-winning student newscast, “Northshore News.”
“I not only produced the show, but also served as a camera operator, editor,
and even anchored a couple of episodes,” Reid said. “That experience gave me a head
start to working as a news producer. I know how to work a camera, love directing,
and know how to edit. I am fortunate enough that I was able to continue learning about
my field with hands-on experience at the Southeastern Channel. That’s something that
not every student can say about their college education.”
“College Night” can be seen on the Southeastern Channel at 9:30 p.m. on Friday
and Sunday nights on Charter Spectrum 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and
St. Helena parishes, and on demand at thesoutheasternchannel.com. The Southeastern
Channel has now won nearly 400 national, regional and local awards, including 17 awards
from the Emmys.
