September 07, 2012
‘alt.news 26:46’ gains regional Emmy nominations
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The talent and dedication of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students who are involved with "alt.news 26:46" continues to earn professional praise.
The student-produced television program earned three nominations for regional Emmys recently from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter. The award-winning half-hour alternative TV news magazine earned nominations in the magazine program, human interest-program feature segment, and editor-program categories.
Alt.news' Dylan Damian, Kyle Loughrin, Beth Radtke, Haley Conner, Susan Shircliff, and Kevin Ryan, earned the magazine program nomination. The episode included features on Lemp Mansion, a Missouri brewery haunted by its former owners, and a charity dance marathon in Iowa supporting cancer victims. Conner earned a program editing nomination for the Lemp Mansion segment, and Loughrin earned a program editing nomination for a feature on a non-profit organization that rehabilitates former racehorses.
Conner is a senior in radio-television from Du Quoin; Loughrin and Radtke are both seniors in radio-television from Tinley Park; Ryan is a senior in cinema and photography from Springfield, and Shircliff is a senior in cinema and photography from Prospect, Ky. Damian, who is from Carbondale, earned his degree in radio-television in May.
"I am extremely proud of our students who continue to excel each year and demonstrate a high level of talent," said Jan Thompson, an associate professor in radio-television and documentary unit director who is the program faculty adviser.
The 36th annual awards ceremony is Sept. 22, at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Mo. Mike Bettes of The Weather Channel will host the awards.
The chapter is comprised of television markets primarily in Southern Illinois, central Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and surrounding designated market areas, or DMAs, according to event organizers.
The student nominations are for outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012.
The show has earned an Emmy in the competition's magazine news show category in five of the past seven years. The program has 30 overall regional Emmys dating back to 2001. Of those awards, 28 are from NATAS' Mid-America chapter in St. Louis, and two are from the Chicago Midwest Chapter.
The show also has five national College Television Award in the last 13 years -- 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, and 2011, to go with two second-place finishes and one third-place finish.
The program begins its 14th season Oct. 14 with the season premiere for 10 p.m. on WSIU-TV Channel 8. Conner and Cara Gordon, a junior from Ballwin, Mo., who has a double major in cinema and political science are the executive producers.