The finalists for the 2022 RTDNAC Awards have been announced.
There were more than 570 entries in the professional division this year from a variety of stations in North and South Carolina.
The student finalists will be announced in the coming days.
Winners will be awarded during a luncheon at Charlotte Motorspeedway on Nov. 12.
RTDNAC is pleased to announce its 2022 awards competition, recognizing the best of TV, radio and website work in North Carolina and South Carolina.
We are currently accepting entries for the student competition.
The deadline to enter has been extended to Monday, Sept. 12.
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, March 26, 2022, 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 to 100 people. Please register online by March 23rd.
Please note: All attendees must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Anyone without proof of vaccination will not be allowed to participate
Face masks are optional.
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:
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:
Bernie Ritter
RTDNAC Board President
WNCT-TV
britter@wnct.com
”RTDNAC was crucial to my Elon experience. From my first year, I was granted access to insight, feedback and mentorships with professionals from across the Carolinas. RTDNAC is a bridge to connect students with professionals.”
Those thoughts come from Meredith Stutz, reporter at WLWT, the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. A graduate of Elon University, she’s one of many past winners of an RTDNAC scholarship.
Each February, RTDNAC awards two $1500 scholarships 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 is awarded to a student attending a college or university in North Carolina. Another is awarded to a student in South Carolina.
Now is your time to apply for the 2022 RTDNAC scholarship competition. Applications must be received no later than March 16, 2022.
“I’m so grateful for this scholarship, because it allowed me to focus on my studies and internships,” Stutz said. “Through this focused effort, I was able to have the best possible start of my career in Savannah a few months later (in 2015). Scholarships change lives, and RTDNAC changed mine for the better with ripple effects still felt today.”
The RTDNAC Board of Directors is proud of all of our previous scholarship winners. A number of them, like Stutz, 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.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas continued its annual tradition of helping train and mentor the next generation of broadcast and digital journalists.
On Saturday, Feb. 27, news directors and leading journalists met virtually with students to talk about current trends and the future of the news industry. Three interactive sessions were centered around these themes (watch the videos posted at the bottom of the page):
The workshop kicked off with the announcement of this year’s scholarship winners. Congratulations to Kirstyn Clark from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Katia Rodengen from the University of South Carolina! Each received a Dr. John R. Bittner Scholarship worth $1500. Capitol Broadcasting Company/WRAL, Hearst Television Inc./WYFF4, and the RTDNAC Board of Directors fund the scholarships.
In the week following the workshop, RTDNAC board members met virtually with students for one-on-one coaching sessions. They critiqued reels, offered feedback on resumes and web pages, provided advice on interviewing, and shared expectations for the first job.
In conjunction with its student workshop, RTDNAC is offering one-on-one coaching sessions for college students during the first week of March.
News managers from across the Carolinas will be available virtually for 30-minute sessions. They’ll be ready to critique reels, offer feedback on resumes and webpages, provide advice on interviewing, share expectations on the first job, etc.
Interested students can register online at https://rtdnac.org/student-workshop/critiques/.
By Dennis Milligan
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.”
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.
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.”
By Dennis Milligan
It’s rare that the story you’re covering as a journalist directly impacts you, your family and your newsroom. However, that’s the reality of 2020, as news organizations balance priorities, keeping the public informed and journalists safe in the face of the coronavirus.
In the Carolinas, the newsroom landscape is remarkably quiet, by most accounts. On-site staffing is kept to a minimum. Mask wearing is mandatory in many locations. Barriers have been installed between work stations. Thermometers and hand sanitizer stations have become as common as cameras and notepads as the tools of the trade. Temperature screenings take place before entering stations. Many stations offer regular, free coronavirus testing to employees. The rare positive cases are contact traced and potentially exposed people are notified and offered testing. “With 25 years in news, I have seen stomach bugs and the flu take down a newsroom. I’m thankful we have been so cautious and so quick to get everyone out of the office and working from home. It has absolutely minimized spread, protected our people and our product,” says Cathy Hobbs, News Director of WCIV in Charleston, SC.
“We have drastically reduced the number of people who work in the building,” reports Kim Saxon, News Director of CBS affiliate, WBTV in Charlotte, NC. “MMJs and photographers have take-home vehicles and most don’t come into the newsroom at all. Shifts have been adjusted to minimize overlap and we have changed seating in the newsroom to spread people out during each shift.” Many newscast producers can build their shows from home, and in automated control rooms, show directors can even punch a show from home. At WBTV, news management rotates in-station duties on a weekly basis. “One team is in the newsroom, the other works from home for a week, then they switch.”
Stations have deployed a variety of technology so that people can work and broadcast from home. Meetings are held by conference call, Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Brad Hyatt is the News Director for WIS, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, SC. He notes that technology, while critical to COVID-19 era news operations, is not a total solution. “The lack of face-to-face time with staff and the inability to really brainstorm as a group takes away from the dynamic.” And Hyatt notes the distance between talent hurts the on-air product. “One anchor on set and another in their extra room at home just doesn’t have the same feel. We can get close, but it lacks the same connectivity, energy, and chemistry you get when a team is really cranking on all cylinders on set.”
In terms of coverage, the pandemic is forcing newsrooms to make decisions that focus on safety. In the case of WBTV in Charlotte, it drastically reduced the number of people on site at the Republican National Convention and did not send teams to the coast when Hurricane Isaias threatened. “We weren’t going to put a crew on the beach, just to get whipped around by the wind, ” says Saxon.
The coronavirus has changed the hiring process for many stations. It’s gone virtual. “We have hired about a half-dozen people who didn’t set foot in the building until two weeks after they started working for us.” according to Saxon. “Those who started with us early in the pandemic and have never been in the same room with 75-80% of their coworkers.” With teleconferencing, Saxon notes, “I have employees who have never seen the lower half of my body. It’s a whole new world!”
Another pandemic casualty is the student internship. Since outsiders are generally not allowed inside of TV stations right now, college seniors are hard pressed to get that hands-on experience which often opens the door to a first job. Colleges and stations are trying to find ways to bridge the gap. One way is by news professionals offering critiques of student work via email. There are some exceptions. CN2 News in Rock Hill, SC recently brought on Winthrop Student Lindsey Burrell who says, “It was extremely difficult to find an internship due to COVID-19. I sent my resume to six different news stations, most of which told me that due to the virus, they couldn’t even consider taking interns until spring of 2021. Some stated that they were unsure if they would even be able to have interns in the spring. As a senior graduating next May, I was afraid that I wouldn’t gain the necessary experience in a news station that I needed when applying for my first job post-grad. I’m extremely thankful for Comporium and CN2 for this hands-on opportunity!”
It has been said that adversity reveals the strength of organizations. This is true of Carolina newsrooms and COVID-19. Hobbs is proud of her team and the job they have done under difficult circumstances. “Yes, balls have been dropped. That happens even without COVID. I will be grateful when everyone is back in the newsroom.”
Looking ahead to the future, it must be asked if working remotely, social distancing and other COVID-19 procedures are the new normal. “I hope not,” says Hobbs. “We need communication and collaboration for the editorial process. I miss my team!”
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:
Please know your safety is our priority, and we will keep you up to date in the decision-making process.
Sincerely,
The RTDNAC Board