WPSU-TV wins two Emmy awards

Photos by Annemarie Mountz (Blue Band) and Greg Grieco Left, drum line for Blue Band 2008 and right, a photo from Cook Like a Chef, one of Penn State's summer camps.

University Park, Pa. -- WPSU, Penn State's public broadcasting station, announced Monday (Sept. 28) that it has earned two 2009 Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for shows "Making the Blue Band" and "Cook Like a Chef." These regional awards recognize local productions for excellence in television programming.

Executive producer Jeffrey A. Hughes and producer/editor Cole Cullen won an Emmy for "Making the Blue Band," in the Documentary category.

Former WPSU producer/director Joshua Dasal earned an Emmy for "Cook Like a Chef," in the Education/Schools Program Feature or Segment category.

“Making the Blue Band” is a behind-the-scenes film that follows eight incoming freshmen through auditions, heartbreaking scenes of being cut and the grueling days of band camp as they pursue their goal of playing in the Penn State Blue Band in front of 107,000 Beaver Stadium fans. Since its debut in the fall of 2008, the documentary has been seen on PBS stations across Pennsylvania and on the Big Ten Network. In April 2009, it earned producers Jeff Hughes and Cole Cullen a Bronze Telly Award, a national award for television excellence. Both Hughes and Cullen are Penn State Blue Band alumni.

“Cook Like a Chef” chronicles the participants and leaders of a children’s camp held every summer at Penn State. The camp’s intent is to teach 11- to 13-year-olds lifelong lessons on nutrition and fitness by instructing them how to cook for themselves and how to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives.

The Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards, now in their 27th year, recognize excellence in programming and individual achievement in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Winners were announced at a ceremony on Sept. 26 at the Philadelphia Loews Hotel.

For more information, please contact Greg Petersen at GregP@psu.edu or (814) 863-4011.

Penn State Public Broadcasting (PSPB) serves central Pennsylvania with programming, educational services and community outreach. This public media service produces, acquires and distributes programs that address local interests and reflect the diverse cultural, political, geographic and demographic characteristics of an audience within central Pennsylvania. For more information, visit http://www.wpsu.org.