Since 2022, the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) has ranked schools based on their performance in the BEA Festival of Media Arts, a premier competition recognizing outstanding student and faculty creative work. The festival celebrates excellence across seven categories: audio, documentary, film & video, interactive multimedia & emerging technologies, news, scriptwriting and sports, while also awarding overall rankings to participating schools.
Students within the Department of Journalism and Creative Media showcased their talents through numerous submissions, earning significant recognition across multiple categories. Overall, the department ranked 25th out of 101 participating programs while also placing eighth in scriptwriting and 10th in documentary.
“We’ve always had students producing high-quality work,” said Michael Bruce, JCM chair, associate professor and director of the Digital Media Center. “Now JCM faculty, students and DMC staff are all working to make sure the best student work is entered in the BEA Festival of Media Arts. That commitment is reflected in these improved program rankings.”
Bruce emphasized that this success is a result of a collaborative effort across the department. As chair, Bruce plays a key role in supporting the department’s academic and creative success. The BEA rankings reflect a coordinated effort led by faculty and students to showcase the department’s strongest work on a national level.
“The submission process is a team effort between students, faculty, our JCM awards committee, BEA Student Club members and sponsors, and DMC staff at WVUA 23 and the Center for Public Television & Radio,” Bruce said.
With continued collaboration and hard work, the department hopes to build on this achievement in future BEA competitions.