Chicago area high school journalism students are recipients of the 2004 annual Student Awards of Excellence from the National Television Academy, the prestigious national organization governing the Emmy Awards.

The awards for high school television excellence were presented by Chicago/Midwest National Television Academy President Jim Disch at the Chicagoland High School Video Festival on April 30th.  The 11th Annual Chicagoland High School Video Festival, attended by over 400 students from 33 high schools, took place Friday, April 30 at Northern Illinois University (NIU) Conference Center in Hoffman Estates.

The Video Festival is co-sponsored by the Chicago/Midwest National Television Academy (NTA) and Chicagoland Television Educators' Council (CTEC).  

The annual event is designed to accommodate all television genres, all levels of student work, and all types of high school facilities throughout the Chicagoland area. 

The Student Television Award for Excellence recognizes outstanding television journalism by high school students. Now in its second year, the Student Award for Excellence is part of the National Student Television program which encourages and supports journalism skills among students.

Student producer/writer teams from around the nation submitted entries in six
categories: News; Arts & Entertainment/Documentary; Public Affairs/
Community Service/Public Service; Sports; Technical Achievement; and Writing. All entries were originally broadcast, cablecast, or Web cast within the eligibility period from February 1, 2003 to January 31, 2004.

Local winners will now be eligible for recognition at the national level. A blue-ribbon panel, chaired by Av Westin, Executive Director of the NTA Foundation, will select six national awardees. These national winning entries will be presented with their awards at a ceremony at the National Television Academy’s Trustees’ Meeting this June in Los Angeles, CA.

Winners from the Chicago/Midwest National Television Academy are:

Category 1 News

Crystal Pillar Award to Jordan Gzesh, Deerfield High School, Deerfield, IL for “Warrior Wake-Up.”

Honorable Mention to Joey Burgess, Glenbrook South High School, Glenview, IL for “The Glenbrook South Report.”

Category 2 Arts & Entertainment Documentary

Crystal Pillar Award to Kyle Betts, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL for “Just.”

Honorable Mention to Patrick Christl, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL for “Susan.”

Honorable Mention to Lily Barsky, Deerfield High School, Deerfield, IL for “Barbie and Ken Extreme X.”

Honorable Mention to Sean Brown, Deerfield, High School, Deerfield, IL for “Columbus Day Mini Documentary.”
    
Honorable Mention to Alan Mellovitz, Deerfield, High School, Deerfield, IL for “A Town That Could Be Segregated.”

Category 3 Public Affair/Community Service/Public Service

Crystal Pillar Award to Christina O’Rourke, Glenbrook South High School, Glenview, IL for “Between the Lines.”

Category 4 Sports

Crystal Pillar Award to Artem Okulik of Libertyville High School, Libertyville, IL, for “Panico’s Selection to U.S. Army All American Bowl,”

Category 5 Technical Achievement

Crystal Pillar Award to Ken Gawne, Riverside Brookfield High School, Riverside, IL for “RBTV Promos Composite.”

Honorable Mention to Patrick Bresnahan, Batavia High School, Batavia, IL, “The Art Show Promo 2004.”

Honorable Mention to Artem Okulik, Libertyville High School, Libertyville, IL for “Prospect vs. Libertyville 7A Footbal.”

Honorable Mention to Mathew Livensparger, Main South High School, Park Ridge, IL for “Rose.”

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