NE North Dakota News

Minot State University students in the professional communication program have received recognition at the 2025 Eric Sevareid Awards. The honors were given for achievements in the student market television categories, with a first-place win and an Award of Merit.

The Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association (MBJA) conducts these annual awards to acknowledge outstanding work in broadcast news across small, medium, and large markets in its six-state region. This involves radio, television, and online media.

The MSU Inside/Out program, produced by students of the COMM 475 class in Fall 2024, earned an Award of Merit for its episode featuring "Senior MSU Football Captain Emmett Espino & Art Professor Ryan Stander." This recognition was in the Cable Newscast Student Market Television category.

Owen Patterson, a sophomore majoring in professional communication, took first place in the Sports Play-by-Play Student Market Television category. Patterson was recognized for his broadcast of the October 19, 2024, high school girls basketball game between Minot and West Fargo-Horace.

“The award is a nice honor to earn early in my career and is something to build on in the future,” said Patterson. “The broadcast department at Minot State has been a huge help in starting my career in play-by-play. The program offers plenty of reps for our students and pushes them to do better and better with each opportunity.”

Neil Roberts, an associate professor of professional communication at Minot State, commended Patterson for his achievements. “Owen Patterson is so deserving of this award,” Roberts stated. “He works hard and has such a high ceiling of talent at the same time. He gets better every game, is already the best across the region, and is only a sophomore."

Three Minot State students — Clayton Hawkins, a senior; Dalton Davis, a junior; and Noah Fredrickson, also a junior — attended the Midwest Journalism Conference in Minneapolis, where the awards were revealed during the MBJA banquet on April 12.

Derek Olson and Neil Roberts, faculty members in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, also went to the conference.

“I am so proud of our students!” Roberts expressed. “They competed against universities across a six-state area — North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska — to be eligible. So, competing against the likes of the University of Nebraska, University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, University of Iowa, Iowa State, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, the University of North Dakota, Marquette and others, there is stiff competition against much larger departments for campus shows.”

During the conference weekend, the students received press credentials through KMSU-19 and were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Target Field broadcast facilities of the Minnesota Twins before a game on Friday night.

Further details about the Eric Sevareid Award can be found on the Midwest Journalists' website.