GNPS/TV wins national awards

The Island Now
Robert Zahn, educational TV and broadcast media director for the Great Neck Public Schools, is congratulated by Erica Jones and Ulysses E. Campbell, hosts of the 2018 Hometown Media Awards. Mr. Zahn accepted four awards on behalf of GNPS/TV. (Photo courtesy of the Great Neck Public Schools)
Robert Zahn, educational TV and broadcast media director for the Great Neck Public Schools, is congratulated by Erica Jones and Ulysses E. Campbell, hosts of the 2018 Hometown Media Awards. Mr. Zahn accepted four awards on behalf of GNPS/TV. (Photo courtesy of the Great Neck Public Schools)

Great Neck Public Schools Television, also known as GNPS/TV, took four top awards at the 2018 Hometown Media Awards, sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media, including the highest award for an educational channel: Overall Excellence in Educational Access.

The awards were presented at a ceremony in Baltimore, MD in July.

“The Hometown Media Awards not only recognize educational programs, but also Public Access TV and government channels throughout the country, making the competition extremely challenging,” explains Robert Zahn, educational television and broadcast media director for the Great Neck Public Schools. “What’s exciting is that our awards represent a wide range of media categories, from filmmaking, to news-piece style documentary, to multi-camera broadcast of a live event, and—most significantly—the Overall Excellence in Educational Access award.”

The Overall Excellence in Educational Access award recognizes the best educational channel in the country, focusing on television programs produced throughout the year and overall operational activities. According to Zahn, GNPS/TV was selected for this award “over other well-regarded educational TV/ film institutions nationwide—not just secondary schools, but colleges, universities, and media institutes as well.”

“Our success is a testament to the hard work and talent of our students, the GNPS/TV staff, and the constant support from our Board of Education,” Zahn said.

GNPS/TV received three awards in the student division of competition for outstanding student-produced programs. GNPS/TV won Best Educational Activities for a news-style piece about the “Thank a Veteran Program,” Best Local Performance for the broadcast of the “South High Cultural Heritage Night” and Best Original Drama/Comedy for a student production titled, “Just Film Things.”

The student division of the Hometown Media Awards requires that the overall direction, production, and all technical tasks like taking video, directing, editing and sound management be performed by students at the primary, secondary, or undergraduate level.

GNPS/TV broadcasts programs within school buildings, records events throughout the district, and provides original content for the Great Neck Public Schools community. Programs are available on-demand on the district website, and air on Cablevision Channel 75 or Verizon FiOS Channel 32 within the Incorporated Villages of Great Neck.

For information about GNPS/TV and its student-produced programming, please contact Mr. Zahn by e-mail at rzahn@greatneck.k12.ny.us, or by phone at (516) 441- 4676.

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