Pictured from left, Abel Garcia and David Michaels (photo by Coulter Grant)
(SAN MARCOS, CA – Feb 23, 2017) Students in Palomar College’s digital broadcast arts (DBA) program won first and third place awards in the national 2017 Festival of Media Arts competition sponsored by the Broadcast Education Association (BEA).
Abel Garcia won first place in the Two-Year Small-College category for producing the episode Palomar Live 11-10-16. David Michaels won third place in the same category for producing the episode Palomar Live 09-29-16.
Palomar Live is a morning news talk show produced entirely by students. There are opportunities to be camera operators, producers, directors, audio techs, technical directors, floor directors, reporters, photographers, writers and more. Students rotate jobs each week to experience different positions of the show.
Instructor Serena Reid, who is a graduate of Palomar’s digital broadcast arts program said the show’s tag line, “The Pulse of North county!” describes it well. The producers and reporters “seek out those unique nuggets of information about North San Diego County and brings them to the attention of residents in the surrounding communities,” she said.
Palomar Live 11-10-16, which aired right before Veterans Day, was focused on the topic of Veterans. Guests were Gerald Hampton of the National Naval Officers Association http://nnoa.org; Kurt Schwend of United Through Reading, an organization that helps keep deployed family members connected to their kids by recording them reading books. http://www.unitedthroughreading.org; and Gail Chatfield and Ron Pickett of the Veterans Writing Group of San Diego County http://www.veteranswritinggroup.org.
The Palomar Live 09-29-16 episode was animal-themed. Guests were Laura Spann and Aleia Scott, trainers for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park – with special guest “Pokie” the African Crested Porcupine http://sdzsafaripark.org; Geraldine D’Silva-Director of PAWS San Diego (PAWS provides essential pet services and support to low-income pet families all over San Diego County) http://www.pawssandiego.org; and Debbie Shinner and Kaitlyn Stewart from REINS Therapeutic Horsemanship Program in Fallbrook http://www.reinsprogram.org.
“We stress to the students to make each show and its subject matter relevant, timely and compelling,” Reid said. “We want to create as close to real-world scenarios as we can so that the students are battle-tested and marketable once they leave our program and they are confident in either follow on academic endeavors or being gainfully employed.”
DBA instructor Austin Hill, also a graduate of Palomar’s DBA program added, “We’re very proud of Abel and David, and all of our students…This goes to show that the training, equipment, and experience at Palomar College makes it a top contender when it comes to getting invaluable experience in the field.”
DBA Professor Pat Hahn added, “It’s such an amazing feeling to have two former students become extraordinary instructors, and join forces to help shape the next generation of award winning Digital Broadcast Arts Alumni — I’m so proud of the students and our instructors. ”
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Media contact:
Melinda Finn, Public Affairs, mfinn@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150, ext. 2365
Laura Gropen, Director, Public Affairs, lgropen@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150 ext. 2152
Pat Hahn, Professor, Digital Broadcast Arts, phahn@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150, ext. 2964