CCM's Electronic Media Division Honors 'Living Legacies' at 20th Annual Frederic W. Ziv Awards

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's (CCM) Electronic Media (E-Media) division honors the outstanding achievements of "Living Legacies" -- students and alumni from the program's past two decades -- at the 20th annual Frederic W. Ziv Awards ceremony. The event takes place Wednesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

Named for Frederic W. Ziv, a television industry pioneer and former E-Media professor, the Ziv Awards previously have honored prominent leaders in the communications industry, with special awards also given to outstanding E-Media undergraduate students. With the event now in its 20th year, members of CCM's E-Media faculty and professional advisory board felt it fitting to reflect on the accomplishments of student award winners from the previous two decades.

"As professional market conditions are changing in our discipline, such a celebration of past achievements also invites reflection concerning the educational path ahead for E-Media majors," said Professor Manfred Wolfram, division head. "Our past award recipients demonstrate to us real-world, professional career conditions. They challenge us, as educators, to reexamine our program and its curriculum and to make adjustments, so that we remain an excellent, educational choice for prospective students."

The E-Media program incorporates training in a multitude of aspects within communications, from writing for broadcast media, audio and video production, and digital media, to name just a few. Alumni are working throughout the world in the television, radio and film industries, with many others serving in various capacities at companies like Cincinnati Bell, Procter & Gamble, Apple and BMW.  This year's ceremony incorporates commentary from alumni who have received recognition at previous Ziv Awards events, offering personal insights into the role the Electronic Media program has played in their career trajectories.

As in previous years, the 2007 Ziv Awards event also recognizes selected undergraduate students for their academic achievements. These awards, featuring internship opportunities and scholarships totaling more than $51,000, are made possible by generous contributions from local and national corporations, friends of the Electronic Media division and the Electronic Media Advisory Panel.

The 2007 student award winners are

* Oxygen Media Marketing Intern Award: Anne Connor (Cincinnati)
* Dr. Charles W. Fries Internship Award: Justin Minch (Dayton OH)
* CNN/Time Warner Cable Internship Award: Nicole Drumm (New Philadelphia OH)
* The Paramount Pictures Productions Internship Award: Loren McNames (West Chester OH)
* Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc. Internship Awards: Lori Kinney (Cincinnati) and Samantha Springer (Cincinnati)
* The WLWT Hearst-Argyle Television Internship Awards: Rachel Alig (Lakeside Park KY) and Michael Lee (Maumee OH)
* International Student Exchange Intern Award: Michael Woodward (Monroe OH)
* The John & Joan Strader Scholarship Awards in Electronic Media
Outstanding Senior Award: Lindsay Krause (Medina OH)
Radio/Audio Production Award: Dustin Osterman (Cincinnati)
* Stout Senior Scholarship Award: Heather Columbro (Dayton OH)

Norma Rashid, a broadcast industry veteran and Electronic Media faculty member, is mistress of ceremonies, and John Long, vice president and general manager of Fox19, gives the welcome address. Other presenters include UC President Nancy Zimpher, CCM Dean Douglas Lowry, and National Broadcasting Society/Alpha Epsilon Rho President-Elect Nicole Drumm and Vice President Demetra Tsasis.

For more information contact CCM's Electronic Media Division at 513-556-9488. The Ziv Awards event can be viewed online at www.CETconnect.org; this service is provided by CET.
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Frederic W. Ziv Award
The Frederic W. Ziv Award, bestowed annually by CCM's Electronic Media Division, is named for the founder of Ziv Television Programs, the largest and most influential syndication company in the history of television, responsible for such programs as The Cisco Kid and Highway Patrol. Built entirely on its founder's spirit of entrepreneurism, Ziv-TV was sold in 1959 to a consortium of Wall Street investment firms and later to United Artists. A Cincinnati native, Frederic W. Ziv was a distinguished professor of electronic media at CCM, where he served on the faculty from 1968 until his death in 2001.