Three Michigan State University graduate students in environmental journalism won top awards for the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts. Kate Habrel and Marie Orttenburger were part of the team that won Best of Festival for a multimedia project titled “The New Vinyl.” Cheyna Roth, a recent graduate, won the Award of Excellence with her team for a documentary directed by Professor Geri Alumit Zeldes titled “Hubert, His Story.”
Habrel and Orttenburger’s project explores the renewed interest in vinyl collecting, combining interviews, photos and video that they compiled into a website. “Hubert, His Story” followed Hubert Roberts, a former convict granted parole in 1999, as he reintegrated back into society and grew into a community leader and mentor in Flint, Michigan.
The winners will attend the award ceremony on April 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the Broadcast Education Association’s annual convention. Recipients will have their projects screened at the convention and will receive $1,000 from the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation. The winners were selected from over 1,450 separate entries, representing 175 colleges and universities.
“I’m flattered that our hard work was recognized in such a big way,” Habrel said, “and look forward to attending what’s sure to be one of the highlights of my first year of graduate school.”

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism has awarded three $3,500 documentary grants to MSU faculty-student teams.
The winning projects were chosen from 16 proposals submitted in a campus-wide competition: Continue reading →