LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN NEWS AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Philadelphia – On Tuesday, May 7^{th, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented ten awards to local high school students working to pursue their dreams of broadcast news. Now in its 11th year, the awards are intended to be an incentive for the pursuit of excellence in television journalism and focus public attention on outstanding achievements in television production by high school students. More than 100 students from high schools throughout the Mid-Atlantic region attended the event held at the Cure Club at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. "We are delighted to announce that we have winners representing Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware," said Tara Faccenda, Executive Director of NATAS. "Student entries more than doubled from last year, bringing in a total of 116 entries in nine categories from nearly two dozen high schools in the Greater Philadelphia region. We congratulate all of the participants for their hard work and exceptional talent." Awards were presented to the students by local media professionals Brad Nau, NATAS President and Senior Executive Producer of Special Projects at Comcast SportsNet; and John Mussoni, NATAS Student Television Chair and Executive Producer of "First" for WHYY-TV. Awards were presented in nine categories, including Newscast, News/General Assignment, Arts and Entertainment/Cultural Affairs, Music Video, Long Form-Fiction/Nonfiction, Sports, Public Service/PSA, Talent and Writing. All entries were received online and judged by a mix of college educators and media professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region. The Jerry Trently Prize, a $1,000 award given to the high school with excellence in newscast, was awarded to Ocean City High School in Cape May County, New Jersey. Named in honor of the award-winning, former photojournalist and news director at WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Trently passed away in 2006 after a courageous battle with brain cancer. This year’s student television awards program also recognized the winner of the Young Producer’s Award, which awards a $1,500 college scholarship to a graduating senior in the Public Service Announcement category. Spencer Halsman, who currently attends Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, received the honor for his PSA entitled, "I’m Donating Blood Because..." Spencer will attend Penn State University in the fall. In addition to the Young Producer’s Award, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School also received the award for Long Form - Fiction/Non-Fiction. A complete list of winners can be found online at   http://www.natasmid-atlantic.org/scholarship.php. About NATAS Mid-Atlantic Mid-Atlantic NATAS is a non-profit, professional association with 650 members in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware representing more than 32 television stations, numerous cable companies and programmers, as well as independent producers, production facilities and educational institutions. Please visit the website,   www.natasmid-atlantic.org, for information about membership}