August 26, 2010
'alt.news 26:46' earns regional Emmy nominations
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale's student-produced television program, "alt.news 26:46," continues to capture recognition.
The University’s award-winning half-hour alternative TV news magazine earned three nominations Tuesday for the 2010 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter Emmy Awards.
The 34th annual awards ceremony is Oct. 9 at the Renaissance Grand St. Louis. Ellie Kemper, co-host of the NBC hit, “The Office,” and a 1998 graduate of John Burroughs High School in St. Louis, will host the awards gala.
“Our ‘alt.news 26:46’ students being nominated for, and winning, regional Emmys has become something of a fall tradition here in MCMA,” said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. “These students continue to inspire me and make me proud with their creative energy and success. They are representative of the quality we encourage in the best communications and media college in Illinois.”
Beginning its 12th season, the show is considered among the best in the nation. In 2009, the show earned its fourth national college Emmy in eight years when it received the award for the best collegiate television magazine news show in the nation. Since 2001, the program has earned 28 regional professional Emmys -- 26 from NATAS’ Mid-America chapter in St. Louis, and two from the Chicago Midwest Chapter.
The Mid-America chapter is comprised of television markets primarily in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri, and surrounding designated market areas, or DMAs, according to event organizers.
The nominations are significant in several ways, said Jan Thompson, an associate professor in radio-television and documentary unit director, who also is the program’s faculty adviser.
“This is wonderful news that our students continue to do excellent work,” she said. “These undergraduate students continue to go head-to-head with professionals and make us proud.”
The nominations are for outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010.
‘alt.news 26:46’ regional professional Emmy nominees are:
- John Elder, a May 2010 bachelor’s degree graduate in radio-television from Carol Stream, and Kevin M. Hill, a junior with a double major in radio-television and cinema and photography from Arlington Heights, for “alt.news 26:46, episode 1103,” in the magazine program category.
- Jenna E. Tromburg, a sophomore in cinema and photography from Littleton, Colo., for “The Bishop Castle,” in the arts/entertainment feature segment category.
- Frank E. McDonald, Jr., a junior in radio-television from Bartlett, and James A. Throgmorton, a junior in cinema and photography from Carbondale for “For Kids Sake,” in the public/current/community affairs -- story/feature category.
More information is available at http://www.an2646.com.