KOMU wins Emmys

By Erica Zucco

Published Oct. 30, 2007

A TV station operated by the MU School of Journalism won three regional Emmy awards for its newscasts.

The Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded KOMU with Best Evening Newscast in a Small Market, Special Series and Special Program this October. The station received six Emmy nominations for programming in 2007.

"This year's success came from a combination of things," Newscast Supervisor Holly Edgell said. "As a news team, we work very hard and pride ourselves on our newscast. Also, the two Emmys shared by Scott Schaefer and Sarah Hill were for a really outstanding series. It was up against stations from bigger cities with more extensive resources, and both are outstanding journalists."

KOMU has not won three awards in one year since 1954, when the station started broadcasting. The station was founded not only as a community TV network but also as a training ground for MU broadcast journalism students.

KOMU Promotions Manager Monica Stoneking said submission of materials to the competition is an all-station effort.

"Everyone gets together and brings ideas to the news director and discusses what might be good enough to win an Emmy," Stoneking said. "The news director then submits what he thinks is Emmy worthy. The academy gives nominations and then announces awards."

The Best Evening Newscast entry featured a February newscast in which KOMU reported on a terror threat at the UM-Rolla campus.

"Every day, we try to share a story of what's happened in the community and how it affects people," Edgell said. "On that particular day, we handled the incident in a way that informed people of what was going on without becoming alarmist. I think that the newscast was selected because of this characteristic, as well as overall journalistic quality and whether it provides compelling, correct information."

MU students serve as producers, reporters and editors for the 6 p.m. newscast that won the award. Edgell said MU graduate Thad Kemlage served as the student producer for the newscast.

Special Series and Special Program Emmys were awarded to KOMU's Sarah Hill and Scott Schaefer. As reporter, Hill produced a special series titled "Mercy in Motion" with videographer Schaefer.

The team followed a group of volunteers in Vietnam who donated materials and time for vehicles to assist individuals who cannot walk and for whom a wheelchair is insufficient. These awards are Hill's third and fourth Emmys.

"Sarah is a great storyteller, and videographer Scott Schaefer doesn't even need a script to tell a story," Stoneking said. "The two give a heart-wrenching story. They say that pictures are worth a thousand words, and they set them up perfectly, with excellent music. Hill knows how to draw out emotion while still giving the facts."