General News Audio Story Division 1,Division 2Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Abilene Christian Entry Title: Air Force aims to boost recruitment after COVID impact Entry Credit: Sheridan Wood Judge Comment: Great job, Sheridan! This is a classic example of a short, well-done public radio story. Your delivery is clear, the story is concise, and the topic is important for the listeners in your area.
One thing I would like to see is a little clearer definition of the "where" in this story; I know you gave me the states the squadron covers, but can we narrow it down any? Maybe the way to do that is to simply tell me where Lt. Col. Werner is based, or perhaps localizing the story a bit more by tying it back to Dyess.
Overall, great work and keep it up!
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: UT-Rio Grande Valley Entry Title: Texas Tribune for Hispanic Students Entry Credit: Silvana Villarreal Judge Comment: Good work on this story, Silvana. This is thorough reporting on a topic that is important to your institution and listeners. I appreciate your choice of actualities, hearing from multiple voices. I also like the text version of your story, which goes into just a bit more detail than the audio version.
The story could be hard to follow at times. I think you could work toward more broadcast-style writing in this story (which as you know, is very different from print or web writing). It might also help to slow down your delivery and vary your tone more to help listeners follow along.
Overall, though, good work, and I know y'all will keep doing good things down there!
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: A&M-College Station Entry Title: The Batt Signal: Mark Tippetts Entry Credit: Kenzie Finch Judge Comment: Good work, Kenzie.
What I like about this submission is that your delivery matches your format. Since this is a podcast instead of a radio report, presentation can be a little less formal and more friendly. You nail that. (But be careful about that dang ol' vocal fry!)
I would love to hear more actualities - but the one you used was a banger! I think the package could also benefit from the use of nat sounds.
Additionally, I'd like to hear you talk more in depth or at least explain some of Gov. Abbott's policies you brought up. I know time is limited, but you could perhaps help your listeners follow along by just adding a few words - instead of "Governor Abbott's Heartbeat Bill", you could say "Governor Abbott's Heartbeat Bill which would ban abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected". That gives your listeners more context. Overall, though, I love your writing and style.
From this Red Raider, good work down there in Aggieland and keep it up!
Competition Comment: This was a strong group of submissions! I am a newspaper reporter and recovering radio professional, and I can say definitively that reporting for radio is WAY harder than writing for print or web. So with that said, great work by all to produce some great content in a tough medium. I wish you all the best.
Alex Driggars
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
