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"Bronco Review" TV show wins Telly Award

March 28, 2008

KALAMAZOO--The cable television show "Bronco Review 2007" has won a bronze award in sports programming from the 29th Annual Telly Awards national competition.

The weekly sports program is co-produced and directed by Stephen Kettner, project lead in WMU Media Production IT, and fellow producer Robin Hook, "the voice of the Broncos," who also serves as host. The 30-minute show provides game highlights and post-game comments from head football coach Bill Cubit. Now five years old, it was extended for the first time this year to include nine additional programs split between head basketball coach Steve Hawkins and head hockey coach Jim Culhane.

The award was given based on a half-hour sampling of the 12 shows featuring Cubit and Bronco football. "Bronco Review" is broadcast on cable both locally and statewide by ComCast.

Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards honor outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions. The competition annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments in the world. It is a widely known and highly respected national and international competition and receives more than 14,000 entries annually from all 50 states and foreign countries.

Needless to say, the competition was stiff, Kettner says. Many entries came from a who's who of large television stations and film and video production companies the likes of Disney. Judges are chosen from among the top professionals in the field.

"It's really nice to enter a prestigious competition like this and be recognized by the top people within the industry," Kettner says. "We were in the same company as some really well-known broadcast operations. It's a major honor."

Students are instrumental in putting the program together each week, Kettner says. In particular, Nick Miller a communication major from Ionia, Mich., who interned as a field camera operator and editor, was vital to this year's program, while additional students in Kettner's Communication 357 class assisted as camera operators in the studio.

"We want to give a view of the game you wouldn't normally see as a fan," Kettner says. "It's usually shot down on field level. We want to bring the viewer right down on the field to give them more of the impact of the game."

Shooting a football game on the field with a single camera is a monumental challenge, Kettner says. Students have to develop skills quickly, in part because there are only so many football games in a given year.

"Students involved in this type of camera operation develop skills that are immediately marketable when they leave the University," Kettner says. He often sees former students at games after they graduate shooting footage for a living.

"It's nice to see them use the experience they have gotten with 'Bronco Review' and put the skills they learned to use in a career," Kettner says. "I'm really proud of that."

Kettner also has high praise for Hook, and vice versa. Both men credit each other for making "Bronco Review" a big success.

"It sure helps to have a professional like Robin Hook to work with," Kettner says, "and the coaches we have are great. They are very able to talk about the game and provide insights behind the highlights."

"We get a lot of help from the guys in Media Production," Hook says. "It's great we can produce the whole thing right here on campus and put out a first-class show that presents Bronco athletics all over the state."

Putting on the show each week is hard work, but very rewarding, Hook says.

"It's great anytime you get a little recognition for your efforts," Hook says of the award. "I know those guys put forth a lot of effort. It's the guys behind the cameras who do most of the work.

"I would also like to thank our show sponsors who help make 'Bronco Review' possible through their corporate support. They include Educational Community Credit Union, State Farm Insurance, Little Caesar's Pizza, Belle Tire, Harold Zeigler Auto Group, TDS Metrocom, and
B & G Discount."

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

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