Fanshawe Students and Faculty Honoured at Radio Television News Directors Foundation Conference

At the Radio Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) national awards presentation in Edmonton on June 17-19, 2010, Fanshawe students and faculty were honoured with five of eight scholarships and awards. Cam Parkes, Christine Newton and Stefanie Masotti received student awards and Fanshawe professor Jim Van Horne was presented with the Michael Monty Memorial Broadcast Educator Award. At the same event, Fanshawe College professor Robert (Bob) Collins was elected president of the RTNDF.

Left to right: Marketwire Scholarship for first year student - Cam Parkes; 660 News Diversity Scholarship - Christine Newton and RTNDA George Clark Scholarship for Overall Winning Entry; Michael Monty Memorial Award - Broadcast Educator of the Year - Professor Jim Van Horne; BNN/Jim O'Connell Scholarship - Stefanie Masotti; program coordinator Radio & Broadcast Journalism - Robert Collins.

Cam Parkes' documentary on Black History in Canada earned him the Marketwire Scholarship for first-year student. While working on this project, Cam interviewed Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes. Cam is a student in the Media, Theory and Production collaborative degree/diploma program between Fanshawe College and The University of Western Ontario. The $2000 Marketwire scholarship is presented to the top first-year student.

Christine Newton, recipient of the 660 News Diversity Award and the RTNDA George Clark Scholarship for Overall Winning Entry submitted a two-part series. Part one focused on how Chinese Christians worship in London using their own language. Part two studied how students from different backgrounds learn at Fanshawe College. The piece highlighted the different experiences of international students and those who are Canadian citizens who have just arrived in London, Ontario. Christine is a student in Television News (post graduate) program and is currently employed at CHCH Television in Hamilton. Christine has an undergraduate degree from The University of Western Ontario. The 660 News Diversity Scholarship is awarded to a student who submits a story which best explores the issue of diversity and the George Clark Scholarship is awarded to the entry judged to be best overall from all winning entries. The total value of these scholarships is $4500.

Stefanie Masotti won the Business News Network (BNN)/ Jim O'Connell Scholarship for her entry on the ways Canadian companies are tapping into the Chinese market. Stefanie has a four-year communications degree from the University of Windsor, is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism Program and is currently enrolled in the MA (Journalism) program at The University of Western Ontario. This $2000 scholarship is presented to a student interested in pursuing a career in business journalism. Candidates must submit a business news story or feature designed for television or radio that demonstrates an ability to grasp business issues and presents complicated information in a clear, well-written and compelling way. This is Stefanie's third RTNDF award. Last year she won the Marketwire Scholarship and the George Clark Scholarship.

Jim Van Horne, left, coordinator of Fanshawe's TV News Program with Terry Scott, Director of Broadcasting, The Canadian Press

Bob Collins Elected President of Radio Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF)
Robert (Bob) Collins, Broadcast Journalism and Radio Broadcasting program coordinator, has been elected President of the Radio Television News Directors Foundation. "I'm pleased to be the first broadcast educator to lead the RTNDF Foundation. Supporting the next generation of electronic journalists and providing professional development opportunities for a quickly changing profession will be a welcomed challenge."

Jim Van Horne Honoured with Michael Monty Memorial Broadcast Educator Award
At the Radio Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) of Canada national conference in Edmonton, Broadcast Journalism professor and TV News coordinator, Jim Van Horne was presented with the Michael Monty Memorial Broadcast Educator Award. Named after Seneca College professor Michael Monty, whose passion for the industry, booming voice and hearty laugh inspired, entertained and informed thousands of students during his teaching career, this award is presented annually to a broadcast educator who has been nominated by students for special recognition.

"I'm very proud of the way RTNDA treats students so this award means a lot. There's nothing that gives me greater satisfaction than connecting a student with a career opportunity," Jim says, "If this means I've done that a few times then I'm happy. I also share this with the other faculty/staff at Fanshawe who are so supportive of what we do."

Backgrounder
The RTNDA is a nation-wide network of news directors, producers, reporters, educators and industry leaders from Canada's radio and television newsrooms and new media operations. They have been the voice of broadcasters since 1962. Each year, the RTNDA honours the best in radio, television and news media though the prestigious RTNDA Awards program and have been presenting students scholarships since 1979.

The RTNDF was established by the RTNDA in 1978 to offer financial assistance to students in Canada. Each year, seven scholarships are awarded to Canadian students. To date, the RTNDF has awarded scholarships valued at more than $221,500. Fanshawe College students and professors have received 37 scholarships over the 32-year time period.

Contemporary Media programs at Fanshawe College
The College's Contemporary Media programs emphasize hands-on learning and provide the opportunity to learn in the real world. We have two college radio stations, including a licensed FM station, an in-house TV station and a partnership with a local cable broadcaster. The broadcast programs have been recognized as Centres of Excellence.

Centres of Excellence are programs or clusters of programs with a high connection to core business, bring recognition and distinction to the College and demonstrate excellent results on quality indicators such as high employment rate and employer satisfaction.