Gaylord College Students Earn Top Honors at 2024 Heartland Emmys Student Production Awards

NORMAN, OK – The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication continues its path of excellence after earning several recognitions from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 2024 Heartland Emmys Student Production Awards.

Gaylord College students, faculty, and alumni received nine awards and were nominated in 11 of the 16 total categories. In all, the college walked away with 18 of the 34 total nominations.

Among the winners were OU Nightly, which earned the award for Best Newscast as well as Best Magazine Program for “OU Nightly: Tracking the Storm” and Gaylord News In-Depth’s “Storm Warnings Language Barrier” as part of the larger “Hell in the Heartland” program.

"It's difficult to put into words just how proud I am of these student journalists and broadcast meteorologists,” said OU Nightly news director Barbara Merckx. “They used the hands-on experience they have gained inside OU Nightly and its corresponding sports programs, coupled with the guidance of two staff advisors, to reach this level of achievement."

These achievements echo Gaylord’s ranking as one of the top overall media programs in America, according to the Broadcast Education Association.

OU has gained ground over the past year in multiple areas, including its film and video program, which ranks first in the nation. Gaylord’s sports programming jumped up one spot and now ranks fourth in the nation. The college also improved in its documentary program, entering the top 10, and the scriptwriting program, now top three in the country.

One of the highlights of the college’s documentary excellence was OU Nightly: Tracking the Storm, a 25-minute documentary special presentation detailing the collaborative work that went into the coverage for the two major tornado outbreaks in central Oklahoma during the spring of 2023. The documentary also featured Gaylord College’s unique academic relationship with OU’s School of Meteorology. 

"’OU Nightly: Tracking the Storm’ was a special program that is a result of one of the strongest partnerships on the OU Norman campus between OU Nightly and the School of Meteorology,” said Merckx. “I can't begin to express the amount of work and care for storytelling on such an important topic went into this program. It is an incredible honor to see it receive such an award."                                                       

NATAS was founded in 1947 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing outstanding achievement in broadcasting. The Heartland Chapter includes the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.