N/A
April 13, 2016
Three Northeastern University journalism students will add award-winning producer/photographer/editor to their resume when they hit the job market. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced its College/University Awards for 2016 which included two first-place awards and an honorable mention for Northeastern students. “These competitive awards recognize the high quality video production and reporting work being done by our students at Northeastern,” said Professor Mike Beaudet. “It’s compelling storytelling that stands out.” In addition, eight students in Beaudet’s Investigative Reporting class worked on stories with Beaudet that aired on FOX25 last year that are now nominated for an Investigative Reporting Emmy and will compete against the top investigative reporters in New England for the award.
Aren LeBrun won the Short Form – Non-Fiction category for NATAS College/University Awards for the second year in a row for a story he produced in Beaudet’s Investigative Seminar for the Homicide Watch website about the hundreds of unsolved murders in Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods titled “The Outspoken Survivors.”
Natasha Chang and Rachel Petri won for best Arts and Entertainment/Cultural Affairs segment for a story they produced in Beaudet’s Documentary Production course about Kundalini Yoga and its healing power titled “Unleashing the Power of Healing.”
Elijah Kaplan and Aneri Pattani received an honorable mention for a story they produced for the Homicide Watch website about neighborhood peace walks conducted by Boston Police titled “Boston Peace Walks.”
Emmy nominations announced for Northeastern student-produced work
The nominations for the Boston/New England Emmy Awards included four stories produced in the Investigative Reporting class that aired on FOX25 last year which have been nominated in two categories. Beaudet was an investigative reporter for FOX25. He is currently an investigative reporter for WCVB-TV, Channel 5, which is continuing the investigative reporting partnership with Northeastern.
Two of the three stories in the FOX Undercover composite nominated for Investigative Reporting were produced with Northeastern students. One looked at faulty ankle bracelets which are triggering unnecessary arrests of accused and convicted criminals who are actually following all of the rules. “Ankle bracelet breakdown: Mass. losing track of criminals,” aired April 23, 2015. The other story revealed the city of Boston quietly reached a settlement with an alleged victim of police brutality, even though the officer remained on the force and “under investigation” six years later. The story, “BPD officer still under investigation 6 years after incident that led to 400K settlement,” aired May 17, 2015.
The second nomination is for News Report – Serious Feature. This entry was for the Northeastern produced stories about the state’s ineffective texting and driving ban which led Governor Baker to signal his support for banning the use of all hand-held devices behind the wheel. The legislature is now considering a bill that would do just that. This story, “Investigation finds Mass. texting and driving ban ineffective,” aired February 24, 2015.
Students who worked on the nominated stories in Beaudet’s Investigative Reporting class were: graduate students Audrey Adam, Julia Aparicio, Alexis Herrera, Cameron Machell, Jessica McWeeney and undergraduate students Kelsey Bruun, Angel Feliciano, and Elijah Kaplan.
Award winners will receive their awards at the 39th Boston/New England Emmy Awards Ceremony to be held on Saturday, June 4 at the Westin Copley Place Boston.