Sophomore Eliza Noell had never touched a professional camera until her freshman year, when she joined the documentary production unit Land Grant Films at the College of Communication and Information (CCI).
“I was a complete beginner. It was really neat to be able to walk in and have this opportunity to try it out and see where it would go,” Noell said.
While inexperienced, her enthusiasm to learn the craft was matched by the desire of Land Grant Films faculty and staff to train students in the documentary-making process.
A year later, Noell was accepting awards for two documentaries she helped produce as part of the Land Grant Films production team at the annual Broadcast Education Association (BEA) convention.
“She is a perfect example of what it means to be hands-on-from-day-one,” said Nick Geidner, professor and director of The Media Center at CCI. “The amount of work that she’s been able to do in just a year is incredible.”
Noell was among a group of School of Journalism and Media students and faculty whose work was recognized as part of the 2025 BEA Festival of Media Arts.
Winners were chosen from more than 2,200 entries representing more than 300 colleges and universities in audio, documentary, film and video, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting, and sports competitions.
“It was very much a group effort,” Noell said about the award-winning works. “It felt weird being a representative to accept the award but felt really proud to see our teams’ hard work on those projects be recognized and showcased.”
She was excited to celebrate not only her team’s accomplishments but also the success of the other students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This year’s winners include:
Second Place
Kylia Berry, Griffin Hadley and Lukas Vysniauskas
Student Social Media – UT Paralympics Social Coverage
Pierce Gentry
Student Radio Hard News – Tennessee offers little relief for farmers wrecked by Helene
Award of Excellence
Ben Cline, Jake Morelock, Eliza Noell and Brynn Brickel
Short Form Documentary – Student – Shooting for an A
Professor Nick Geidner, Carter Moore, Noell, AlexaLin Moses, Peter Emerson, Assistant Professor Ahmad Hayat
Faculty Mixed Pedagogical – Carving the Creative Vision
“Student work within the School of Journalism and Media is receiving accolades at an unprecedented level,” said Amy Jo Coffey, director of the School of Journalism and Media. “The students’ energy, creativity, and skills are putting them on the map, bringing recognition at higher levels and by national associations.”
Learning from industry experts
Students also learned more about the field from industry experts at the annual BEA convention.
They attended networking events with media professionals and other students, perused exhibitions showcasing the latest technology, and during panel sessions they learned about the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
Senior journalism and media major Kylia Berry said one of her favorite sessions focused on utilizing empathy-based reporting when covering sensitive topics.
Berry has been reporting on the opioid crisis in East Tennessee for The Volunteer Channel (TVC). She felt the information shared as part of the panel Redefining Journalism: Teaching Trauma-informed, Empathy-based Reporting at the convention taught her how to improve her reporting on the crisis and other sensitive topics.
“It was such an educational experience, and it really continued to light that fire, that passion I have for journalism,” Berry said. “It was an honor to be able to represent the University of Tennessee, specifically the School of Journalism and Media, and The Volunteer Channel at BEA.”
Noell said one of her favorite moments from the convention was hearing how different media professionals got their start in the industry. She also enjoyed checking out the new cameras and other filmmaking equipment being showcased in the exhibit hall.
“It was like a candy store,” Noell said. “It was really neat getting to see the latest technology in person and knowing that one day we could be using it in the future on our own projects.”
Representing and supporting J&M
School of Journalism and Media faculty showcased their expertise in the field at the convention.
Geidner and Assistant Professor Ahmad Hayat shared more about their teaching methods when working on documentaries with students as part of the Creative Scholar-to-Scholar Session: Festival of Media Arts Showcase.
Geidner also participated in the Defining the Documentary panel. An annual panel at the convention, it explores issues concerning the documentary-making process. This year’s topic focused on the use of artificial intelligence in documentaries.
Geidner said UT students not only attended his panel to show their support but also engaged in the discussion and shared their own thoughts during group breakout sessions.
“I was just really impressed with all the students and their commitment to learning about the industry,” Geidner said.
Professor Stuart Brotman shared his expertise as part of the The Road to Perdition: Challenges, Debates, and Solutions for Media Scholars to Counter Authoritarian Assaults on the Media from Nixon to Trump. Panelists provided updates on media law and policy, antitrust and regulatory issues, applied history, and the debate over cultural studies as a critique of power.
Assistant Professor Shannon Scovel presented as part of The Rapid Evolution of Sport-Based Social Media panel. Scovel shared more on team-oriented social media and previewed her work to be shared as part of the upcoming 2025 Routledge Handbook for Sport and Social Media.
It was Scovel’s first time attending BEA, and while she found the sessions and technology showroom great, the highlight of the conference for her was watching the students thrive and their dedication and commitment to learning and personal development.
She was also excited to see how supportive students were of their classmates’ success as much as their own.
“These conferences can be overwhelming, but the students really took advantage of this opportunity and excelled,” Scovel said. “Having them in the crowd for my session and hearing them engage with the other panelists and ask questions was such a proud moment for me, too.”