Brian Beaver, Andrew Martin, Marcus Jackman and Brian Eckstein at the ECI Advertising Federation Awards in February. Photo courtesy of John Disher, CHS Media Services.

IPR wins ECI advertising awards (2/03)
Indiana Public Radio's self-promotion efforts received high honors when the 2003 East Central Indiana Advertising Federation awards - Addys - were presented at the Muncie Horizon Convention Center early last month.

In the category of Radio Self-Promotion/Campaign, IPR received two Gold Addys: one each for "Making a Difference" and "It's Up to You," the two campaigns created for the spring and fall pledge drives in 2002. (The judges chose not to give a Silver Addy this year, but, since awards are given solely on the merits of a project, it is possible for more than one Addy to be given in a single category.) IPR also received "Best of show" in the broadcasting division for the "It's Up to You" campaign.

Brian Eckstein, Marcus Jackman, and the staff and students of Indiana Public Radio were the brains behind the two campaigns. Student producer Andrew Martin and senior news correspondent Brian Beaver contributed to the script of "It's Up to You."

The ECI Ad-Fed awards competition uses out-of-town judges from various fields of advertising in both print and broadcast media.

Both of IPR's award-winning entries will be forwarded to the American Advertising Federation's District Contest to be conducted later this year.

• 1st Place, Best Radio Spot News -- Brian Beaver, "Bomb Scare"
• 2nd Place, Best Radio Spot News -- Brian Beaver, "Operation Brown Star"
• 1st Place, Best Coverage of Environment -- Brian Beaver, "Electrofishing"
• 1st Place, Best Feature -- Marcus Jackman, "Chocolate"
• 2nd Place, Best Feature -- Brian Beaver, "Bobbi’s Homecoming"
• 2nd Place, Best Radio Newscast -- Stan Sollars and IPR News Staff, IPR Morning Edition
• 1st Place, Best Continuing Coverage -- Marcus Jackman, "Corpus Christi"

• Use of Radio Sound; "Cave Music;" Jackman
  
• Public Affairs; Talk of Indiana; IPR news team
• News Series; "Lord of the Rings;" Jackman
• Single Live-Breaking Story; "Bank Robbery Manhunt;" Beaver
• Enterprise; "Ridin’ the Storm Out; Beaver
• Feature; "Bobbi’s Homecoming;" Beaver
• Spot News; "Bomb Scare;" Beaver

• Use of Radio Sound; "Russian Cops Visit Marion;" Beaver
• Best General News; "Electro-fishing;" Beaver
• Single Live-Breaking Story; "Drug Bust;" Beaver
• Enterprise; "Court Rejects Temple;" Beaver
• Spot News; "Factory Fire;" Beaver

• Feature; "Chocolate;" Jackman

IPR News continues to receive honors (5/1/01)
Indiana Public Radio’s news department has received 15 awards thus far in 2001: two from the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), eight from the Indiana Associated Press (AP), and five from The Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ).

The RTNDA recognized Brian Beaver with a prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for Best Spot News for his coverage of last summer’s severe storms, and the entire news staff received the award for Overall Excellence.

"The latter award goes to the station that the judges feel does the best overall work in news," said IPR’s news director Bob Papper. "Our entry included a newscast, spot news coverage, feature coverage, and election reporting -- recognizing the work of Stan Sollars, Brian Beaver, Marcus Jackman, and myself as their news director."

Region 5 includes Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. "We’re in the ‘small market’ category," Papper explains, a category which actually includes the hundreds of stations (in those five states) outside of the seven largest cities. The stations in those large cities compete against each other. All stations – large and small – covet the Murrow awards, says Papper.

The regional award winners vie for the national Murrow awards, which will be announced in June.

At a March 31 banquet, IPR staff received the following first-place awards from AP:

- Marcus Jackman -- Best Public Affairs Program – for ArtsDesk;
- Brian Beaver -- Best Spot News – for coverage of severe weather;
- Brian Beaver -- Best Use of Radio Sound – for "Principal in a Tree"

The following received Second Place:
- Stan Sollars and the whole team on Morning Edition, Best Newscast category
- Brian Beaver – Best General News for "New Lisbon Lotto Craze"
- Brian Beaver – Best Feature for "Principal in a Tree"

And the following received Honorable Mention:
- Marcus Jackman -- Best General News for "Muncie Civic Theatre
- Brian Beaver -- Best Enterprise Story for "Alexandria Shooting"

SPJ honored IPR News with Best Newscast and the following second place awards during an April 27 presentation:
- Brian Beaver --Best Feature Story for "Principal in a Tree"
- Brian Beaver --Best Radio Spot News for "Severe Storms"

The following received Thrid Place:
- Brian Beaver --Best General News for "Alexandria Shooting"
- Marcus Jackman-- Best Feature for "Crystal Arch"