Sponsored by TVNewsCheck and the Broadcast Education Association, the Disrupt the News challenge seeks entries that generally stick to the programming flow of a local TV newscast, but make the format more attractive to younger audiences, especially millennials.
Teams of student journalists from 18 colleges and universities have signed up for a competition to create a TV newscast that would attract new — and especially younger — viewers.
Sponsored by TVNewsCheck and the Broadcast Education Association (BEA), the Disrupt the News challenge seeks entries that generally stick to the programming flow of a local TV newscast, but make the format more attractive to younger audiences, especially millennials.
Submissions include a mix of news, sports, weather, entertainment, advertising and promotion.
Teams are encouraged to blow up and deconstruct the traditional TV news and then create, produce and package the news they’d want to watch.
The Disrupt the News entries are being judged by members of the Radio Television Digital News Association as well as BEA member university professors and TVNewsCheck editors.
The winning entries will be showcased at the BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas in April, which overlaps the NAB Show. Cash prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 will be given to the top 3 winners. Winning entries will be featured on TVNewsCheck.com and possibly also at the NAB show.
Winning student teams (up to three people per team) will be provided with housing and travel allowances to cover most expenses for their trip to Las Vegas.
During the convention, a panel session with winning student team leaders will explore the reasoning behind their approaches to the news.
“TV broadcasters have been looking for ways to create newscasts that appeal to younger viewers,” said Harry A. Jessell, TVNewsCheck’s editor and co-founder.
“Disrupt the News Challenge offers a way for college students to show the industry how they want the news presented on TV, online and on mobile. We believe everyone attending NAB Show and BEA 2019 will want to see the work of the winning students and hear from them about how they approached their video entries.”
“Every time I meet with BEA student members, or see their creative work, or hear about innovative ideas, I’m in awe,” said Heather Birks, BEA’s executive director.
“We have an engaged and talented next generation of broadcasters and we look forward to showcasing winning entries at BEA 2019, on BEA.org, on TVNewsCheck.com and possibly also at NAB Show.
Competing student teams hail from the following institutions:
• Appalachian State University
• Arizona State University Cronkite School of Journalism
• Elon University
• Ithaca College
• New Zealand Broadcasting School
• Syracuse University
• The American University in Cairo
• The University of Alabama (3 submissions)
• The University of Texas at Arlington
• University of Central Oklahoma
• University of Houston
• University of Northern Iowa
• University of Southern California
• University of Southern Indiana
• Western Illinois University
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions