College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

Emmy winner Jeff Petrocelli speaks with Miss Kentucky Chapel Tinius at the 60th Ohio Valley Emmy Awards Gala.

WKU PBS, Western Kentucky University’s Public Television Service, was nominated for awards in three categories at the 60th annual Ohio Valley Emmy Awards, and it received one statue in the “Audio, Post-Produced” category. 

“I'm grateful to be recognized and consider it a privilege to be a part of the outstanding team at WKU Public Media,” Jeff Petrocelli, Audio Engineer and Producer, said of his Emmy win. “This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of everyone at WKU PBS, The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, and the ROMP Music Festival.”

“We strive to cultivate an environment where creativity and hard work can thrive in ways that benefit the communities we serve,” said Jordan Basham, Interim Executive Director of WKU Public Media. “The recognition from our peers, provided in the form of these nominations, serves in part as an acknowledgment of those efforts. We find validation in our workforce development efforts through our student crew’s success on projects like these and the contributions they make on a daily basis to our operation.”

WKU PBS received nominations in two other categories. Elijah Smith, Producer/ Director, was nominated in the Directing category for his work on an episode of ROMP, which featured a performance of We Banjo 3. “I was very honored to receive my first Emmy nomination in my career. The incredible talent of our camera operators and the captivating performance of We Banjo 3 made directing this show the highlight of my career so far,” Smith said.

Cameron Witte, Director of Creative Video for Athletics, was nominated in the Sports Story category. “I was honored to have Cash Money Marcus nominated for an Emmy,” Witte said. “Marcus has been an integral part of the Women’s Basketball team at WKU, radiating positivity everywhere he goes and truly embodying the Western Creed: The Spirit Makes The Master.”

Additionally, the WKU PBS student production crew was present to help produce the Backstage LIVE portion of the streamed awards ceremony. “Not only is being able to work the Emmy awards ceremony a great learning and networking opportunity for our student crew, but it also provides them the chance to demonstrate their capabilities and their professionalism to current industry leaders, and we take great pride in that at WKU PBS.  Professionals from all over the chapter had nothing but praise for our student crew,” said Josh Niedwick, Production Manager at WKU PBS.

The recipients were announced on July 20 in Lexington, Kentucky. WKU PBS has been nominated in each of the past 22 years and has received 33 awards.

WKU PBS is housed on the campus of Western Kentucky University. For more about WKU PBS, visit https://www.wkyupbs.org/

Contact: Josh Niedwick, joshua.niedwick@wku.edu

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Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.