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Apply Now for 2021 RTDNAC Scholarship

“The connections I made through RTDNAC have been invaluable during my time as a college student and professional.”

Those are the words of Abbey O’Brien, traffic anchor and MMJ for Live 5 News (WCSC) in Charleston, S.C. As a graduate of the University of South Carolina, she’s one of many past-winners of an RTDNAC scholarship.

“I was honored to be chosen as a scholarship recipient in 2016 and upon graduation have stayed in the Carolinas working as a multimedia journalist for the last five years.”

Now is your time to apply for the 2021 Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas scholarship competition.

RTDNAC annually awards two $1500 scholarships in February to two currently enrolled rising juniors or seniors who are pursuing a major course of study with emphasis in broadcast and/or digital journalism.

One scholarship will be awarded to a qualified student attending a college or university in North Carolina. Another scholarship will be awarded to a qualified student enrolled in a college or university in South Carolina.

The RTDNAC Board of Directors is proud of all of our previous scholarship winners. A number of them, like Abbey, are now working in the professional ranks.

The scholarships are made possible by Capitol Broadcasting Co./WRAL and Hearst Television Inc./WYFF 4 and the RTDNAC Board of Directors.

Any interested student who meets the qualifications should note that no formal application form is required. However, each of these points must be fulfilled for consideration of a student’s application:

  • Name and year in school
  • Home and school addresses and phone numbers
  • College major
  • College honors, offices and activities
  • High school attended and any honors, offices and activities
  • Any other accomplishments, experiences or information the applicant would like to provide
  • A statement (one-page minimum) describing how the scholarship would contribute to the applicant’s future career goals
  • The names, addresses and phone numbers of at least two references. Recommendation letters from each of the references should be sent directly to the scholarship chairman
  • A certified copy of the applicant’s latest transcript

All materials may be emailed. Hard copies sent via USPS are still acceptable. Students should check with the Registrar’s or Records offices to see if transcripts may be emailed, or if the record must be mailed as a hard copy and allow time for delivery.

Applications must be received no later than Feb. 6, 2021.

Applications should be sent to:

Pete Poore, RTDNAC Scholarship Chairman
SCDOT Office of Communications
PooreJP@scdot.org
955 Park St., P.O. Box 191
Columbia SC 29202

Carolina Journalists and Students Honored by RTDNAC

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By Dennis Milligan

Dianne Gallagher
Dianne Gallagher

Life in 2020, especially as it relates to COVID-19, forced many changes in how we go about our lives and our business of broadcast and digital journalism. The same was true for the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas’ annual award presentation. Normally held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, this year’s awards were presented during a digital conference on Nov. 14.

RTDNAC President Laurabree Monday welcomed participants saying, “We know this is a strange year. We still hope you enjoy this (digital) event. We very much hope to be back at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2021.”

The awards presentation started with keynote thoughts from CNN National Correspondent, Dianne Gallagher, who is now based in Charlotte. She welcomed participants, noting, “This has been one hell of a year and every single one of you deserves to celebrate your accomplishments.”

Laurabree Monday
Laurabree Monday

Gallagher talked about her journey from CN2 News in Rock Hill, to CNN. She had words of encouragement for the digital gathering, as both students and professionals grapple with the current pandemic. “COVID-19 elevated everything. It elevated the need for you, your diligent effort to get the truth to people. At the same time it made doing that so much more difficult.”

“You were often risking your own physical health and mental health to make sure the rest of your community knew what was really happening,” she added.

Rachel Ellis
Rachel Ellis

The awards presentation also featured Rachel Ellis, a reporter for ABC 4 News in Charleston, S.C. Her comments addressed college students in their last year of journalism school. “I was in your shoes a little over a year ago.” “No one could have predicted the curve ball of 2020, it became quickly apparent to me that our jobs have never been so important for the communities we serve.”

As much as things have changed in 2020, CNN’s Gallagher noted that much remained the same for broadcast and digital journalists. “My life has changed, but the basics of building relationships, demanding accountability, telling stories, that hasn’t.”

There were 550 entries (working professionals and students) judged by 44 professional journalists in 18 states, with 196 winning entries. The entire presentation and list of winners can be found here.

COVID-19 & the 2020 RTDNAC Awards

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Dear partners, students and professionals,

We hope that you, your family and colleagues stay safe as we all navigate through the COVID-19 crisis.

We thought that an update would be helpful on where we are with the RTDNAC awards competition and awards luncheon slated for Nov 14 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Are we still planning for the awards competition?

YES. We are committed to proceeding with the awards competition.

Entries are now being accepted until July 15 for professionals and Sept. 9 for students. You can find the competition rules, categories and entry forms on our website.

While we have Nov. 14 reserved for the awards ceremony, we continue to monitor COVID-19 and are ready to adjust as necessary.

We are looking at several different alternatives, including but not limited to:

  • An in-person awards ceremony: The ceremony would take into consideration all safety measures at the time and offer an in-person opportunity to receive awards.
  • A virtual awards ceremony: We would have a remote in portal where folks could see if they won. The awards then would be mailed to each city for a designated pickup spot.

Please know your safety is our priority, and we will keep you up to date in the decision-making process.

Sincerely,

The RTDNAC Board

Student Workshop Set for Feb. 22

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Students from across the Carolinas, this is your chance to network with news managers and educators and gain knowledge that will help as you prepare for graduation and seeking that first job.

The RTDNAC Student Workshop will take place at WBTV, 1 Julian Price Place in Charlotte, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, from 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The registration desk will open at 8:30 a.m. in the WBTV lobby.

There is no fee for the workshop, but space is limited. Please register online by Feb. 14.

The workshop is open to students enrolled at universities and colleges in North and South Carolina.

This year’s workshop will include the following sessions conducted by broadcast professionals from across the Carolinas:

  • The Broadcast Voice
  • Reporting/Anchoring
  • Producing TV newscasts
  • Production
  • Sports
  • Radio news
  • Photography
  • Online news and social media
  • Landing that first job

Students will also be given the opportunity to have their work critiqued by professionals.  Samples of students’ work must be accessible online.

For more information, contact:

Pete Poore
RTDNAC Board Member & Scholarship Chair
S.C. Department of Transportation
(803) 737-1270
PooreJP@scdot.org

2019 Awards Luncheon a Success

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Concord, NC — More than 160 broadcast and digital news professionals gathered on Saturday, October 26th at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2019 convention of the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.

Keynote speaker was Zackary Kiesch, a correspondent for ABC News, who told a personal story about his challenging journey into the broadcast news business. As for many broadcast veterans, his path to success was punctuated by challenges and setbacks. But focus and determination led to the opportunity to prove himself, eventually earning a place on network TV.

The convention featured a panel discussion on how to get the most out of your efforts on social media. The panelists were Molly Grantham, long time anchor and reporter for WBTV News in Charlotte and Trooper Bob Beres, traffic reporter for WCIV in Charleston and a 24 year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Molly has more than 100 thousand followers on Facebook and talked about her years-long path to success. Trooper Bob not only uses social media effectively now as a television news professional, but also had viral success in law enforcement, distributing safety information.

This convention was a bitter-sweet, as the association marked the loss of two important board members. Haney Howell, was a professor at Winthrop University and an emeritus member of the board. Before education, he had a notable career in television and radio news at the network level. Ken White,  a television news director in many markets, including Charlotte NC, served the RTDNAC for many years and was particularly focused on student members and their advancement. The families of both men were presented with awards of appreciation. Ken’s wife, Jenny, and son, Mack, were on hand to accept the tribute and to present the “Student of the Year Award,” now named in White’s honor.

The highlight of the annual convention was the presentation of professional and student awards at the luncheon. Award winners can be found here.

Board Director Ken White Dies

Long Time Board Director & News Director Dies

Ken White, an RTDNAC board member for two decades, died on Friday, October 11, 2019. He was 63. Ken was a journalist, working in Alabama, Tennessee, New York and West Virginia, and his home state of Pennsylvania. He was the founding news director of Fox Charlotte and had most recently been news director at WVVA in Bluefield, West Virginia. Ken was a past-president of RTDNAC and was named News Director of the Year in 2005.

As dedicated as Ken was to broadcast journalism, he was also a natural teacher. He worked closely with students in colleges in the region, including Winthrop, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Elon.  He was serving on the Elon University School of Communications Advisory Board at the time of his death. He had been on that board for more than 15 years. Ken gave many current journalists their start, through internships and by hiring them for their first jobs. He was always available to look at a student’s reel and to give career advice.

To his many friends, Ken was known as a “herder”, someone who kept people together. While others would text, Ken would call. During those calls, Ken’s passion for journalism, education, and sports, was always on display. According to his published obituary, “Ken coached multiple seasons of flag football at the Siskey YMCA, worked as an intern coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Academic Intern Program, and was a board member for the National Sports Media Association. In recent years, Ken also volunteered at Providence High School where he worked with newspaper classes and high school’s student newspaper, the Providence Prowl.”

Ken met his wife, Jenny (Ferguson) White when they were both working for WPXI in Pittsburgh. She survives him along with his son, Mack, and daughter, Madeline.

Here’s what some RTDNAC members had to say about Ken:

Tributes to Ken White

“Ken ran a very friendly, warm, and open newsroom. He’s the only news director I’ve ever worked for who regularly took the entire crew out for breakfast. He really facilitated a family environment in his newsroom. I look back and realize what a special thing that was. Ken always had a smile on his face. He knew how to balance being a friend and the top boss, and we all know that’s no easy balance. 

I was always so impressed with the fact that Ken would regularly show up to work at the crack of dawn in order to catch the morning show and be present for the morning team. I remember thinking: he doesn’t have to do this. He wants to do it. One morning he asked me how I was doing. I jokingly said I could use some breakfast. The next morning he showed up with a Bojangles spread for the whole morning show staff. This was not out of character for Ken. 

We only worked together for one year, but Ken and I would regularly see each other at Elon and RTDNAC events in the years to follow. Even though I was no longer his employee, his kindness and warmth never wavered. We last saw each other at a RTDNAC conference– must have been around 2013. I remember giving him a hug and chatting for a bit before he went off to mentor the visiting college students. In my circle of journalism friends, that’s what Ken is known for. “

   -Leigh Lesniak,  Consumer Investigative Producer/ NBC Philadelphia

“Ken White is the reason many of us are on the board today – he was a man who loved to connect people and saw the big picture. He cared about those he worked with, he loved the industry and he made those around him better. Ken had a true heart for RTDNAC and its mission. He was committed to our organization and he loved seeing it grow year after year. Mostly, he was a constant that will be very missed. His jokes, smile and sense of humor make life just a little more fun. His years of experience and love for sharing it with students was unsurpassed.  Ken’s passing is truly a loss for our board that will never be replaced. “

   -Laurabree Monday—RTDNAC President, CN2 News News Director, Anchor

“Ken showed us how to face adversity with an incredible attitude and amazing courage. His zest for life in his fight against cancer became an inspiration. He also impacted so many people through mentoring, coaching, teaching, supporting, and counseling. His legacy will live on through their collective work and public service. Ken was remarkable, and we’ll truly miss him.”

   -Rick Gall—RTDNAC Past President, WRAL News Director

“I first got to know Ken in the Nineties when he was at WXII-TV in Winston-Salem.  Ken never failed to make me smile, or laugh out loud, with his quick, sharp wit. When my boss, Andy Still, was retiring in 2007, Ken reached out to me about taking Andy’s position on the RTDNAC board. How many of us who have joined the board over the past couple of decades have gotten that call from Ken, gently cajoling us to considering serving? Ken, we will miss your passion, your leadership, your love for RTDNAC and the future of our business. Thanks for being a great friend.”

   -Lee Brown—WYFF Assistant News Director