McCain wins first place award in broadcast competition

By ASU News Service

Allie E. McCain, a senior Appalachian State University electronic media/broadcasting major, placed first in the audio division of the 2009 Broadcast Education Association’s National Festival of Media Arts.

Allie E. McCain earned a first place in the Broadcast Education Association’s National Festival of Media Arts. ASU photo

McCain, from Level Cross, took first place in the audio PSA/Promo/Commercial category with her 60-second radio commercial titled “Gold Fish.”

McCain will receive her award at the Broadcast Education Association’s 53rd annual Convention, Exhibition & Festival of Media Arts to be held April 24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

McCain’s winning entry was produced in Appalachian’s Department of Communication as a class project for the Audio Production II course taught by Steve Smith. McCain’s winning commercial can be heard online at www.asucom.appstate.edu/smithks/goldfish_mccain.html.

The commercial depicts a child saying her first word, “fish,” because of her love for Goldfish® crackers. McCain’s nieces are heard in the commercial.

“It was a fun project to work on,” McCain said. “I was excited that Mr. Smith chose mine to enter in the competition.”

McCain’s nieces were ages 4 and 18 months when she recorded them for the project.

“I was at home with my nieces baby-sitting when one pulled out the crackers and gave me the idea for my project,” McCain said. “When my youngest niece was learning to talk, one of the few words that she could say was ‘fish.’ I wrote the script to go along with that being her first word.”

McCain, who provides the color commentary for Appalachian’s women’s basketball games on ISP Sports Network, hopes for a career in sports production, either behind the scenes or as on-air talent.

This is the third year that a student from Appalachian has received one of the top three awards in one of the festival’s production categories.

The BEA Festival provides a national refereed exhibition of creative activities and is a national showcase for student work. The exhibition includes recognition, showcase and awards presentations. The awards ceremony is the capstone of the festival, which is held in conjunction with the annual BEA Convention in association with the National Association of Broadcasters’ yearly convention in Las Vegas.

The Broadcast Education Association is the professional association for professors, industry professionals and students of electronic media and multimedia enterprises. It was established in 1955. Approximately 250 college and university departments and schools are currently institutional members, and more than 1,300 professors, students and media professionals are currently individual members.