Ball State University’s Excellence in Broadcast Education, Student Creative Works Recognized by Broadcast Education Association

Ball State University recently received high marks in the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) inaugural School Rankings—Recognition of Institutional Excellence in Media program. 

Ball State’s College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM) placed seventh nationally out of 101 ranked institutions in “2022 Top Winning Overall Programs.” Ball State also placed second in the nation in “Top Winning Sports Programs,” seventh in “2022 Top Winning Documentary Programs,” and 27^th in “Top Winning Film & Video Programs.” 

The BEA notes its rankings “are not an overall evaluation of an academic program, but an evaluation of the quality and consistency of students’ creative works produced at one institution compared to those at other institutions,” and are “based on the past five-year period of student success” at the BEA’s annual Festival of Media Arts. 

“We are ecstatic and grateful to the Broadcast Education Association and its prestigious Festival of Media Arts for this national recognition of our innovative programs,” said Dr. Paaige Turner, CCIM dean. “At the College of Communication, Information, and Media, we strive to inspire our students and faculty to lead the way with passion, purpose, and progress. These rankings are further proof of our dedication to this very mission.” 

Ball State’s BEA rankings came off the heels of the University’s strong performance in the 2022 BEA Festival of Media Arts competition, in which several Ball State students and faculty members earned recognition as either Best of Festival, First Place, Second Place, Third Place, or Award of Excellence in their respective categories. Among Best of Festival and/or first-place finishers for Ball State this year were:

• Faith Denig: Best of Festival, Student Sports and Promotional Video/Tease/PSA categories; Ball State Sports Link: 2021 Men's Basketball Intro 

• Sarah Akins, Cameron Surdyk, Ryan Klimcak, and Lexi Eblen: first place, Video Sports Live Game Production category; Ball State Sports Link: Women's Volleyball vs. NIU 

• Jordan Nemeth: first place, Esports Coverage category; Ball State Sports Link: 2021 Esports Intro 

Ball State named ‘Television School of the Year’

Ball State also recently claimed “Television School of the Year” honors for a fifth straight year—and seventh time in the last nine years—at the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB) college competition. 

Held March 26, the 2022 IASB college competition also featured several individual and group winners from Ball State, including: 

• Cardinal Compass Staff: first place, Radio Talk Show
• Dominick Liacone: first place, Television Copywriting
• Faith Denig: first place, Photojournalism
• NewsLink Indiana Staff: first place, Television News Program
• Charlie Hammock and Dennis Collier: first place, Television Sports Program
• Madeline Rambisoon and Scott Thomas: first place, Video Sound Design
• Staff of the Ball State Daily News: first place, Student Multimedia Website 

Ball State’s recently renamed Department of Media empowers students to shoot and produce films, make sales pitches, produce newscasts, and host their own radio shows from the minute they step onto campus. 

The department offers several organizations that allow students to hone their skills learned in the classroom, have fun building their professional portfolios, and develop leadership skills—all within state-of-the-art facilities using industry-standard equipment. These student organizations include BSU Tonight, Cardinal Filmworks, Cardinal Sports Live, Cardinal Vision, Esports, NewsLink Indiana, Sports Link, and WCRD-FM. 

Ball State’s Public Media program, meanwhile, enables students to generate community-driven content and produce programming for organizations such as Ball State PBS/WIPB-TV and Indiana Public Radio/WBST-FM.