2023
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello All!
Welcome to the 2023 Student Production Awards presented by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Michigan Chapter.
Each year, we're so impressed by the creativity we see in submissions for the Student Production Awards! We are especially excited with this year's entries as the quality of work continues to demonstrate even greater content, creativity and execution.
Congratulations on your outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news and informational achievements.
We can't wait to see how your productions will change our industry!
Sincerely,
Robin A. Tracey
President, NATAS - Michigan
A MESSAGE FROM THE Student Production Awards Chair
After three years of being virtual, the NATAS Michigan Regional Chapter is so excited to welcome all of you to the 2023 Student Production Awards on the campus of Michigan State University!
This year we received 196 nominations from high school and college journalism and media production students across Michigan, and today we honor the best of those submissions. In addition, our chapter is introducing a new aspect to the student production awards this year.
We’ve invited professionals working in news, sports broadcasting, and documentary production – all with ties to the state of Michigan – for question-and-answer sessions geared to what students want to know about the fields they are pursuing.
We encourage students to take this opportunity to learn from the experiences of others who’ve had the same career dreams you have.
The Michigan NATAS Board of Governors also wants to thank the professors and teachers who are guiding you as you discover your purpose, place, and passion in the media industry.
Congratulations to all our nominees, and thank you for attending!
Carol Yancho
Student Production Awards, Chair
CELEBRATING YOU AND TEAM WORK
Were you nominated for or the recipient of a Student Production Award over the years?
It’s never too late to purchase a beautiful plaque or crystal award celebrating these contributions. Select our beautiful crystal pillars featuring an image of the Emmy logo and personalized with an inscription celebrating your accomplishment.
All prices include personalization, shipping not included.
College School SPA Pillar - 8”
High School SPA Pillar - 6”
Your personalized pillar, featuring your entry etched in gold with the Emmy logo: $125
Special Thanks
Special thanks to MSU’s College of Communication Arts & Sciences for hosting the next generation of media and journalism leaders.
PRESENTERS
Steve Patterson
NBC News Correspondent
MSU Journalism Alum
Steve Patterson is an NBC News Correspondent based in Los Angeles and travels across the country covering stories of national prominence, including the recent school shooting in Nashville. Prior to joining NBC in 2016, Patterson worked as a reporter at broadcast affiliates in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and at WZZM in Grand Rapids. He graduated from Michigan State University’s School of Journalism in 2008.
JOSHUA RIEHL
Documentary Director
The Russian Five
Joshua Riehl is a Michigan-born writer, storyteller and documentary filmmaker whose work has been featured on PBS, NBCSports and CNNFilms. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s film program, he cut his teeth working on projects at the crossroads of politics and criminal justice. While at UT he produced An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story and the PBS Frontline episode Death by Fire before heading home to make The Russian Five, which would win multiple film festival awards and be sold in more than a dozen markets worldwide. Whether focusing on the wrongfully convicted or the international intrigue of defecting Soviet hockey players, his work explores the human condition and the heart of mankind.
NATALIE KERWIN
Reporter/Host
Bally Sports Detroit
Natalie Kerwin is a Digital Reporter, Host, and Sideline Reporter with Bally Sports Detroit. She covers the Detroit Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings, along with high school football, basketball, and other sports stories in the state of Michigan. Kerwin is a 2020 graduate of Michigan State University, where she studied Sports Journalism and Spanish. In her free time you can find Kerwin skiing, at the gym, reading, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and attending sporting events as a fan. She’s called metro Detroit home her entire life and loves being able to share her passion for storytelling and sports knowledge with viewers.
GERI ALUMIT ZELDES
Award-Winning Documentary Director
MSU Journalism Professor
Geri Alumit Zeldes, Ph.D., is an award-winning director and tenured Professor in MSU’s School of Journalism, where she doubles as an academic and practitioner. She has a dozen best paper awards from international communication associations and 100+ honors and screenings for her documentary films, including five Michigan NATAS Emmy® Awards and two Edward R. Murrow Awards. Her latest film, Breed & Bootleg: Legends of Flint Rap Music received a documentary Emmy® in June 2022. Zeldes is a Flint native and received her B.A. and Ph.D from Michigan State University.
MIKE CASTELLUCCI
Multimedia Journalist and Professor, MSU
Mike Castellucci has received numerous accolades for his work in broadcast television and is widely considered a pioneer of mobile journalism. Castellucci has honed the craft of shooting and producing news stories and entire programs using iPhones as his camera. He’s worked at broadcast affiliates in Dallas, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and has been honored with 28 Emmy® and four Edward R. Murrow Awards. As a Professor of Practice and Artist-in-Residence, Castellucci teaches all aspects of digital storytelling to students in Michigan State University’s School of Journalism. Castellucci graduated with a B.A. in communications and a minor in journalism from the University of Colorado.
2023 Student Production Awards Nominees
2023 Student Production Awards Committee
Carol Yancho
WKAR
Adam Burns
Troy Athens High School
Adam Rauscher
Dearborn High School
Rick Sykes
Central Michigan University
Executive Board
President
Vice President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
National Trustee
Alternate Trustee
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Anchor
Photojournalist
Director
Game Producer
Digital Journalist
Producer
News Director
Executive Producer
Founder/CEO
Professor Emeritus
Senior Producer
Executive Director
Social Media Manager
Mike Boseak