School Of Communications

This summer the department of communications will be hosting the YCreate Summer Camp program for high school students who are interested in future study with BYU's communications department. A huge perk for those who plan on enrolling for this upcoming summer is the new registation price of $245, which includes lunches, an opening social and a closing banquet. Students who participate will have the chance to be lectured by some of the leading professionals in the fields of public relations, journalism, advertising, and digital media. Registration is currently open for the week of June 23-27, 2014. Home stays are also being arranged for minority students who are interested in participating. For more information on the program or to enroll, visit the YCreate website by clicking here.

Three of BYU's broadcast students recently brought home awards from the Alliance for Women in Media's Gracie Awards. Julianne Horsley won Best Anchor, Mary Blanchard won Best Sports Host and Danielle Ycmat Jansson won Best News Producer in February 2014. Blanchard's win marks the fourth year in a row that a BYU broadcast student has won this award. Past winners include Sable Petersen, Briana Carr, Lakia Holmes, and Taylor Lansford. 'I consider myself lucky every day that I get to attend a school with such an amazing broadcast program,' Blanchard said. 'BYU has provided an environment to hone my skills in that we do have our own newsroom and camera equipment, and daily show that students run and get to be a part of.' Blanchard's interest in broadcasting was sparked by the ESPN show SportsCenter. 'I remember starting to get really into it early in high school and I just thought...I need to anchor that show. I love sports, I love talking, but I especially love talking about sports - it's perfect,' she said. The Gracies are awarded every year to outstanding women in the media with the student awards spotlighting upcoming college women who show dedication to the media profession. 'The Alliance for Women in Media was formed in 1951 as successor to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) women's division. In 2010, the organization changed its name to the Alliance for Women in Media, in order to better represent our commitment to women in all forms of electronic media.' according to the organization's website.

The famous saying about the grass being greener on the other side also applies to food. A Taco Bell commercial written by a BYU advertising student captures how easy and tempting it is to steal somebody else’s tasty-looking food. The Taco Bell commercial, written by BYU advertising student Camille Trent, followed her script titled “Girlfriend.” The commercial focuses on a selfish, food-loving girlfriend who steals delicious food from her boyfriend. Taco Bell’s goal with the commercial is to convince customers that its menu item called “loaded grillers” is cheap enough for people to buy their own. At the end of the commercial the angry boyfriend hands his girlfriend her own loaded griller, achieving his goal of not having to share and making her happy. So how does a student get an opportunity to make scripts for big advertising companies? One way is by joining BYU’s Ad Lab. The ad lab provides students such as Trent valuable hands-on experience working closely with advertising agencies. “The ad lab is a great program at BYU,” said Trent. “We have a lot of alumni who have gone on to big advertising agencies.” Trent, like many who have gone before her, wrote scripts and created ad ideas that companies used in upcoming commercials. The BYU Ad Lab, which works closely with an adverting agency called DRAFTFCB, provided Trent with the opportunity of a lifetime. DRAFTFCB, which does advertising for Taco Bell, asked BYU Ad Lab students to create an ad that specifically fit what Taco Bell was looking for in its commercial theme, survivor of the selfish. It took many hours of brainstorming and writing 4—5 scripts for Trent to finally receive inspiration. “I brainstormed ideas with my husband, Brandon, and he gave me the idea that I needed to think of the perfect scenario,” Trent said. “He told me that I always steal food from him rather than getting my own, and that’s where the idea came from.” DRAFTFCB loved Trent’s idea and decided to use her script in Taco Bell’s commercial. Since the commercial aired this week, Trent has received a lot of positive feedback from peers, friends and family. “I put in up on Facebook a couple days ago, and there (are) now as many likes on the video as there (were) when I got engaged and married,” Trent said. “I got a ton of comments on the video, and it’s been a cool experience hearing feedback from people who aren’t at BYU.” Source: The Digital Universe

Super Bowl XLVIII is just around the corner, bringing joy to football fans across the country. But for those less-than-enthused about the Broncos-Seahawks matchup, there are clever commercials to look forward to. The Super Bowl’s infamously funny and memorable commercials are the reason some people watch the big game, and BYU’s connection to these commercials is closer than some might think. Students and graduates of the BYU advertising program are well-known for their annual excellence in the Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, and this year is no different. This year, Chris Capel, a 33-year-old LDS director, and his team produced “Office Thief,” which is a finalist in the contest. Prior to this year, Tyler Dixon, a BYU graduate, was a finalist for three straight years in Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” contest. In 2010, BYU’s Ad Lab produced a commercial for the contest that won a Student Gold ADDY award. No BYU-affiliated commercial has ever won Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” content, but they have their sights set on the prize. The great American comic book writer Stan Lee, former president of Marvel, personally called Capel to congratulate him on becoming a “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl” semi-finalist in December. Capel didn’t believe it was real for about half the phone call. “By the end I was shaking,” he said. “I almost passed out.” If Capel’s “Office Thief” commercial beats its four other competitors in the annual “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl” competition, it will air during the 2014 Super Bowl on Feb. 2 for hundreds of millions of viewers. His team, which includes BYU grad David Lake, could win $1 million and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to work on the set of Marvel’s “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” in London. In “Office Thief,” everyone’s Doritos go mysteriously missing from the office break room. Jerry, the security guard, is found covered in cheesy, crunchy, orange powder. Jerry is appalled when his boss accuses him of being the culprit and continuously denies the allegation in a comical way. Capel and his writing partner Richard Price had been wanting to enter the competition for a while but were waiting for the right moment. “It took finding not only an idea we believed in, but an idea we could afford to shoot,” Capel said. Once the idea was conceived, the creation process was quick and easy. Lake said, “The video took about six hours to film, and then we had about a week of production.” The team never expected to have such huge success. “Chris really just made the video to boost his directing reel with no expectations about going deep into the competition,” Lake said. Capel added, “I never dreamed we’d make the top five.” Despite their initial shock, the team is confident in the commercial’s chance of winning. “Our video appeals to the widest range of people, has the best acting and represents Doritos best,” Lake said. The grand prize for Doritos’ competition is a game-changer for emerging directors. “The prize of having your commercial air during the Super Bowl and getting to work on the ‘Avengers 2†² in London are just incredible awards,” Capel said. “They would do so much for our careers.” And the $1 million? Capel comes from a unique family of 14 children, seven of whom are adopted from Africa. “My parents are amazing examples of charity, so I wouldn’t feel right not giving a significant chunk of the prize money to a charity of some kind,” Capel said. “Preferably something to do with Africa and helping out the situation there in some way.” In addition, Capel would donate 10 percent to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to the official “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl” website, viewers can vote for their favorite commercial “once per day, once per device.” Source: The Digital Universe

Vai Sikahema, a graduate of the broadcast program in BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications was honored with an induction into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Did you know current BYU running back Adam Hine can do a back flip on a BMX bike? Or that BYU counts among its former athletes a sculptor for the Football Hall of Fame and a pastor in South Carolina?

What do the owners of a highly successful publishing company, Managing Editor of two of their largest publications and the seasoned reporter writing about her have in common? Besides their mutual affinity for the written word, these four share another commonality: their BYU Communications degrees. In this article written by a communications alumna, about a communications alumna who just happens to work for two of our alumni, get to know Briana Stewart, Managing Editor for two of Bennett Communications‘ largest publications: With an adventurous toddler at your ankles, a laptop balancing on your knees and Sesame Street playing in the background you try, unsuccessfully, to reply to a single email— even a simple sentence. And yet mother of two small girls, Briana Stewart isn’t just making it work, she’s making magic as the Managing Editor for Utah Valley BusinessQ and Utah Valley Bride Magazines. Click HERE to read the full article by Jennifer Stagg. Photo: Veronica Reeve

As an Emmy-winning meteorologist, mother of four, and avid marathon runner, Amy Freeze knows a thing or two about making it all work. On the night of the awards ceremony where Freeze would receive her fourth Emmy — this time for Best Weather Anchor — she had a decision to make: an evening spent with distinguished journalism colleagues, or an evening wearing jeans and a t-shirt and cheering from the sidelines at a child’s soccer game. On this night, the choice was an easy one for Freeze. “There is never real balance in life, but having the ability to recognize the priority of the moment is the only secret I know to making it all work,” said Freeze. “Every aspect of life surfaces as the priority at different times — family, work, church, personal time. Being able to recognize the priority at the time is a challenge, but if you can see it and do it, you will win every time.” Freeze is a self-described “BYU baby.” Both of her parents are BYU graduates, so she grew up cheering for the “Blue and White.” It was only natural, then, that while working toward her Communications degree at BYU, she would become a cheerleader and eventually marry Cosmo the Cougar. Her first real-world journalism experience came as part of a study abroad in South Africa. “It was during Nelson Mandela’s election. We spent time at the country’s newspaper agencies and I did an internship in Africa with Worldwide TV News,” Freeze said. “Then, during my first job as a writer at a TV station, I realized I could enterprise, write, and present stories. My last name caught the attention of my coworkers who encouraged me to try out weather storytelling. They said, ‘Freeze, you were born to do the weather!’” Her first job in broadcasting was with KBYU Report and KBYU radio. It was during this time that she learned to shoot, write, edit, and package stories. After completing her Communications degree, she went on to earn a BS in Geosciences with an emphasis in Severe Weather from Mississippi State University, followed by a MS in Environmental Science degree from University of Pennsylvania. To those who knew her as a budding journalism student, Freeze’s professional success was only a matter of time. “If I had ever seen a natural for television, it was Amy Freeze,” said Dale Cressman, who was her BYU instructor and KBYU news director. ”Color me unsurprised that she’s succeeded in the largest TV markets in the country.” Freeze has worked in various markets across the country, including Portland, Oregon, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, and currently as Weekend Meteorologist with the number one affiliate in the country, WABC-TV in New York City. She says that there has been no shortage of excitement during her first year in New York. “I was thrilled to receive an Emmy for my first year of work in New York City,” said Freeze. “We have had intense weather since I arrived, including Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Sandy, record flooding, extreme heat, historical blizzards, and everything in between.” Besides the thrill of winning awards and tracking severe weather, there is something more driving Freeze’s passion for her work. “This job is special. It allows for unique experiences and unusual opportunities. The best part is that doing a special job allows me to serve others in a way that motivates me to do my best. When I do my job well, it opens doors and invites experiences that allow me to help those around me.” Freeze’s off-camera successes include completion of multiple New York City Marathon races, SCUBA diving with sharks, and broadening children’s understanding of weather by speaking at schools. She enjoys supporting charitable causes and once competed in and won Chicago’s “Dancing With the Stars” event to benefit the March of Dimes. She and her husband, Gary have four children: three boys ages 14, 11, and 4, and a daughter who is 8 years old. Source: Department of Communications News

BYU Communications students win big at world’s largest advertising competition

Student reporter Brenna Donnelly took her responsibility very seriously.

The Society of Professional Journalists recognized BYU broadcast journalism students today in their annual Mark of Excellence Awards. ElevenNEWS at Noon was named the Best All-Around Television Newscast in the country and Brittani Good was named a finalist in Television Sports Reporting for her story on ultimate frisbee, “Ultimate Thrill.” The Mark of Excellence Awards honors outstanding student journalism at colleges and universities. According to their website, more than 4,600 entries were submitted this year by students from many different colleges and universities. ElevenNEWS is a student newscast that broadcasts daily from their lab in the Brimhall Building. The lab contains 20 student work stations high-tech software and a news set with ParkerVision computer controlled cameras. ElevenNEWS is sponsored by the BYU Department of Communications and the College of Fine Arts and Communications.

Building the Kingdom Through Today’s Communications

By Michelle M. Mueller

by Todd Hollingshead

by Todd Hollingshead

by Todd Hollingshead

by Emily Bennion

by Blake Ferguson