Written by Eli Dean
Students and faculty took home awards and presented research at the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) conference last weekend in Las Vegas.
Sophomores in the Honors College, Haleigh Carter and Emma Gaskill, were selected to make poster presentations at the conference. Carter presented on “Female Frames: A Content Analysis of News Media Portrayal of Women Accused of Violent Crimes.” Carter said that she learned a lot at the conference, and she gained confidence that she’s going to use what she learned in the future.
“It was really impactful to me to see how many people came by that were genuinely so interested in me and my research, and they were all so encouraging and excited for me,” Carter said. “One really cool thing is that Emma and I were the only undergrad presenters. Everyone else that presented was in a master’s or PhD program, and so most of the people that came by were really surprised and impressed that we were there.”
Jim Miller, assistant dean of the Honors College and professor in the Department of Communication, said that he was proud of Carter and Gaskill and that their work surprised many at the conference, given that they were undergraduate students.
“I’m incredibly proud of Haleigh and Emma,” Miller said. “They were the only undergraduates selected to present in their research sessions, and it was clear they made an impression. Several attendees told me how surprised they were to learn they weren’t master’s or doctoral students. That’s the kind of quality work they presented.”
Miller said that conferences like BESA are energizing for him both personally and professionally, and that being able to be in a space with other educators across the country is a big positive for him.
“Journalism education is evolving faster than ever, which can feel both thrilling and overwhelming,” Miller said. “Being part of conversations with educators and professionals from across the country gives me hope and renewed inspiration for where media education is headed.”
Gaskill’s research presentation was titled “Analyzing Parental Responses to Children’s Negative Emotions in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: A Mixed-Method Content Analysis.” She said that she came into the conference not sure what to expect, but that she was able to come out of the trip with more interest in doing one again in the future.
“The biggest thing I learned is that research is interesting and fun,” Gaskill said. “I was kind of expecting a research conference to be stuffy and boring, but it was cool. I opened my eyes to research being fun and collaborative, it doesn’t have to be all about just getting a good grade on a project.”
For the awards Harding took at the conference, Harding students and faculty submitted pieces in the Festival of Media Arts competition. Dutch Hoggatt, professor of communication and KVHU 95.3 station manager, won the Faculty Award Competition in the Radio Documentary Category for his piece on Loud Belly. Junior Edgar Cardiel brought home two awards, one in the Educational Program category with a 2nd place finish for his artist spotlight on Vicente Fernandez, and the other a 1st Place finish for his and Harding graduate Asa Clay’s work with the Harding Bison football team.
