Academy announces new college journalist contest

By James A. Molnar TGK Editor By this time last year, 10 semifinalists were named and voting had begun for the Academy and mtvU's Osc...

By James A. Molnar
TGK Editor

By this time last year, 10 semifinalists were named and voting had begun for the Academy and mtvU's Oscars correspondent contest. It was third year of the partnership.

Last fall, the Academy did not announce a fourth iteration of the contest. So what happened?

"We weren’t able to do the contest this year," said Jake Urbanski, spokesman for MTV, "but we’re always evaluating ways to give students unique opportunities to showcase their talents on-air. We’ll keep you updated on any future contests or competitions."

There was no word from the Academy why the contest was dropped. However, on Monday, a college journalist contest was announced. Instead of mtvU sponsoring the competition with the Academy, a new partner was named: On The Red Carpet (OTRC).

The details

For two weeks, college journalists can enter to win a trip to the Red Carpet to cover the Oscars. Teams of three must submit a three-minute video to redcarpetjournalist.com to showcase their interviewing skills and prove why they deserve that spot on the Red Carpet. Teams must be made up of one reporter, one producer and one videographer. Two teams will be selected from each of the ABC-owned television stations' markets — Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh and San Francisco — for a total of 16 finalist teams. These 16 teams will then be judged by an expert panel of Academy and KABC-TV employees to determine the contest winner.

The winning team will be flown out to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards pre-events, such as the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award press event, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium and the Governors Ball preview. The winning team will have the exclusive opportunity to work with KABC-TV's OTRC team and report live during the "On The Red Carpet at the Oscars" pre-show (1:30–4 p.m. PT). The winning trio will also get rooms at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, $100 for formal wear and/or complimentary tuxedo rental, $50 per day meal allowance, ground transportation to/from all off-site Academy Events and to/from LAX Airport, three seats in the backstage interview room during the telecast and access to the Governors Ball.

Judging criteria is as follows: 50 percent for skill as journalists and 50 percent for ability to professionally represent OTRC at the Academy Awards. Entrants must be 18 or older, currently enrolled and "a student in good standing in a college or university at the time of entry and physically located within "one of the following states within the counties representing one of the Eight (8) ABC Owned Television Station DMA's: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, counties." Find all the rules here. The contest ends at 6 p.m. local time on Feb. 5.

OnTheRedCarpet.com is a subsidiary of ABC. The website was launched in March 2012 in conjunction with the debut of "On The Red Carpet," a show produced by KABC-TV in Los Angeles. The show airs mostly on the Live Well Network, a home, health and lifestyle subchannel network owned by Disney-ABC Television Group. It is available in more 60 percent of the U.S., according to the network's website.

The benefit
A handful of students have already benefited from the first three correspondent contests.

The Gold Knight caught up with Megan Telles on the Red Carpet last year. Telles, who was a finalist during the first year of the contest, is very thankful for the contest.

"Not a lot of people get to come to the Oscars when they're in college," she said. "I'm so thankful for that competition because it really opened up so many doors."

Emerson College student Terry Stackhouse is also thankful for the competition. Stackhouse, along with his partner Zach Cusson, won the contest in 2010.

"The experience of being on the Red Carpet was amazing. It was a dream come true for me," Stackhouse, now a senior, told The Gold Knight Blog via email. "Standing there, interviewing the biggest names was a very surreal thing. I really enjoyed talking with them and didn't have much difficulty in asking questions. I was prepared, and knew that in terms of my career, that hour or so on the carpet would be more important than just about anything I've done in my career."

The Emerson student, now a senior, said that he wasn't star-struck by being on the Red Carpet.

"I felt a good kind of pressure to perform, but I was not intimidated by their celebrity status," he said. "Although, I'll admit talking to Sandra Bullock was a pretty cool thing."

His experience was also eye-opening, he said.

"Although Hollywood and the Oscars are important, I have no desire to report on the daily happenings of celebrities and gossip," Stackhouse said. "That trip helped me realize that."

Stackhouse is currently interning at New England Cable News and is enjoying it.

"I am excited and inspired by broadcast news and I can't wait to continue working towards my goals," he said.

Analysis
Partnering with OnTheRedCarpet.com makes sense for the Academy. First and foremost, the website is a subsidiary of ABC, produced by KABC-TV in Los Angeles. This directly connects the contest to the broadcaster of the Oscars, which is a good thing. Also, dropping MTV may have been a smart move. The network doesn't exactly exude the class for which the Academy strives.

The downside of the contest, however, is that countless college journalists will be left ineligible because they don't live in the viewing area of one of the eight ABC-owned stations (in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas, North Carolina and Virginia).

In the end, however, it is a very good decision by the Academy to continue this competition. Kudos.