Students and recent graduates from 91¸£Àû's School of Media and Journalism captured two regional Student Production Awards at the 2025 Central Great Lakes Student Production Awards, presented by the Central Great Lakes chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
The KSTV Thursday Newscast earned top honors in the Newscast or Headline News category, recognizing the work of eight student journalists: Nuried Hurtado Guzman, Emma Campbell, Devin Gallagher, Sydney Brown, Hayden Cruz, Sofia Helena Dambros da Silva, Nikki Gasiewski and Katie Waggle. The award recognizes student excellence in broadcast journalism across Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
Brown earned a second award for her hard news report Tariffs Hit Local Businesses in Northeast Ohio, recognized in the Hard News Report category. The piece, which examined the real-world economic impact of federal trade policy on small business owners in Northeast Ohio, reflects the kind of community-rooted, accountability-driven reporting that Brown made a hallmark of her time at 91¸£Àû.
Brown, who graduated in May and recently began her professional career as a multimedia journalist at WKBN in Youngstown, also earned two additional nominations — for a feature report on an Akron firefighter who appeared at New York Fashion Week and for a solo storytelling piece on 91¸£Àû's use of AI-generated content — making her one of the most recognized individual competitors in the 2025 field.
Brown joined 91¸£Àûr TV in her first year and went on to serve as Flashcast Producer, Broadcast Managing Editor and News Director before graduating. Earlier this year, she described the hands-on experience as invaluable in developing her reporting skills: "Truly listening to your interviewee, to get better answers and more personality on camera. From there, you need to be analytical in choosing which pieces of an interview matter to propel your story."
recognize outstanding work from college and high school students across the chapter's tri-state coverage area.
Behind the scenes at the 57th Annual Central Great Lakes Emmy Awards show held on June 27, MDJ students and recent graduates played an essential role in the event, working both in front of and behind the camera for the gala's Backstage Livestream. These Golden Flashes supported the event by interviewing award recipients and producing the show live under the direction of Julie Davis and Sylvia Torres from WBGU along with JoAnn Larsen from 91¸£Àû.
"Our students didn't just win at the regional Emmys — they helped run them," said Emily Metzgar, director of the School of Media and Journalism. "Competing for awards while also producing the event's backstage livestream for a room full of working professionals is a remarkable experience, and one that captures what makes MDJ unique. I'm proud of every student who shared their time and talents to support the Emmy awards."
Watch as Brown and her colleagues from MDJ hosted the backstage show: