Breeze TV among finalists for college TV station of the year

Five years after it launched, Breeze TV the weekly news program reported and produced by student journalists is one of five finalists for the College Media Association’s Pinnacle Award for four-college TV station of the year. 

The College Media Association selected Breeze TV along with Ithica College Television from Ithica College in New York, UTD TV at the University of Texas in Dallas, The Appalachian from Appalachian State University and Elon Local News from Elon University — both in North Carolina.

Among the key stories Breeze TV covered during the 2020-21 academic year was the Oct. 28 explosion of a shopping center at Miller Circle in Harrisonburg, as well as continued coverage of the pandemic’s effects on life and learning on campus.

Ryan Parkhurst, an assistant professor in SMAD, has served as Breeze TV’s adviser since he helped launch the station five years ago. Key leaders of Breeze TV in 2020-21 include Shelby Walker, the news director who is a senior this fall, as well as anchors Colby Johnson, who started his professional career as a reporter at WHSV-Harrisonburg, and Allison Baxter, who started her career as a morning reporter for WGTU in Traverse City, Michigan.

The College Media Association, which has more than 700 members, will announce the Pinnacle Award winners at the Associated College Press/College Media Association Fall National College Media Convention, which will be a virtual event held between Oct. 14-17.