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Florida Focus Wins BEA Signature Station Award

Florida Focus finished in second place in the Broadcast Education Association’s Dr. Marjorie Yambor Signature Station Competition, which is sponsored by BEA’s Student Media Advisors interest division.                 

This is the first time Florida Focus has entered this competition. The mission of the competition is to identify and impart areas of excellence in the hands-on facilitation of station functions such as philosophical engagement, community involvement, programming arrangement, branding/logo development, student management, volunteer recruitment, and broadcast equipment.                 

The competition is judged by industry professionals and media educators. The criteria include leadership, professional development, content, social media, and community service. Material from the spring and fall 2023 Florida Focus classes was submitted as part of the application. Florida Focus currently airs on WEDQ, local PBS station, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:56 p.m. and has an active social media presence. In 2023, the students also held a holiday food drive for Feeding Tampa Bay, something they plan to continue moving forward.  
               
Dr. Stephanie Anderson, Florida Focus program director, will accept the award at the BEA national convention in Las Vegas, NV in April.  
               

Here is the list of this year’s winners: 
1st Place: Citrus TV-Syracuse University 
2nd Place: Florida Focus TV-University of South Florida 
Honorable Mention: NtTV: (University of North Texas)