UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A weekly newscast produced by Penn State students earned two first-place awards in a national competition coordinated by College Broadcasters Inc.
“Centre County Report” earned awards for Best Newscast and for Hard News Reporting. The newscast was honored for its March 31, 2023, episode and for a segment about a controversial on-campus event that was cancelled.
A separate episode of the newscast finished third in the newscast division and another news segment finished fourth in the hard news reporting category. A Penn State submission finished second for Best Special Broadcast.
It’s the first year Penn State has submitted materials for the competition. The awards were announced at an event in Orlando.
“Centre County Report” is produced by students in the capstone broadcast journalism course in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. The weekly program airs across Pennsylvania on WPSU-TV (PBS) to 29 counties and 500,000 television homes. It also streams throughout Pennsylvania as the result of partnerships with KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh) and KYW-TV (Philadelphia). Viewers also can watch the newscasts on YouTube.
The newscast has won numerous regional and national awards and has been named the best college newscast in the nation a half dozen times in the past 10 years.
College Broadcasters Inc. is a member-driven organization serving students and advisers of college and high school electronic media outlets. Through events, programs and a network of expertise, the group provides its members with educational and professional opportunities and facilitates advocacy for student journalists.