ARLINGTON, Texas—Arlington Sentinel News en Español, produced by University of Texas at Arlington Communication Department broadcast students, won the Lone Star National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Award (NATAS) for college Spanish-language newscast.
The win marks the first for Arlington Sentinel News en Español, which is part of UTA’s Hispanic Media Initiative. UTA students in conjunction with Univision won the award in 2017, 2019 and 2023 as part of Proyecto U.
“ASNE’s achievement recognizes the tenacity of our bilingual broadcast students,” ASNE adviser and broadcast instructor Julian Rodriguez said. “They are focusing on teamwork by taking advantage of their professional skills in a state-of-the-art production environment. As an adviser, I aim to identify and ignite the students’ potential, and this award validates their newly-found career passion.”
Isaac Molina, who participated as a reporter in the winning broadcast and now serves as technical director operator for ASNE, said the recognition “is special because it represents the hard work of everyone who contributed” and offers validation that he is “heading in the right direction with my career.”
Valeria Olvera, a reporter and camera operator on the awarded newscast and ASNE’s current news director, said Arlington Sentinel News en Español has offered her an essential experiential learning opportunity.
“Working on ASNE has been one of my most valuable experiences that has taught me how the journalism world is outside of college,” Olvera said. “I gained hard and soft skills as a journalist that make me more and more passionate and confident in this field. Additionally, I have fostered a sense of responsibility to my community and love having the opportunity to collaborate with people who share a similar passion.”
Londy Ramirez, who served as reporter and camera operator on the winning broadcast and who has held a variety of other positions with ASNE, said the broadcasting opportunity provided “a hands-on learning experience that’s opened doors to new skills I never expected to develop.”
She said that, as a journalism major, her prior experience had focused on writing.
“Being part of a newscast allowed me to see the behind-the-scenes process of producing a broadcast,” Ramirez said. “I never imagined I’d have an opportunity like this, and it’s shown me what’s possible when I step outside my comfort zone.”
Students said working on ASNE has challenged them—in all the best ways.
“As someone who grew up struggling to speak Spanish, I am so proud of pushing myself to tell news stories in Spanish,” Mia Medellin, a reporter on the winning broadcast who has gone on to serve in a variety of other roles, said. “Challenging myself each week to produce Spanish news content gives me a piece of mind that I can truly do something as long as I put my mind to it.”
Students stressed that the award, while meaningful to everyone, speaks to the collective effort of the broadcast team.
“This isn’t just a reflection of our individual work, but it also showcases the collaborative work and passion for journalism of the team,” Olvera said.
Olvera added that the recognition is not an end in itself but a spur to further growth.
“As the producer for ASNE this semester, I am proud of all the newscasts I have produced so far,” Olvera said. “At the beginning it was challenging, but the team’s collective effort and work is really rewarding. I strive to create more shows that are better than the last by fostering stories that inform, engage and inspire.”
Students honored for their work include: Melissa Garza, producer; Valeria Olvera, reporter/camera operator; Karla Flores, writer/floor manager; Zachary Bell, assistant APC operator; Jesus Adrian Trevizo, anchor/reporter; Michelle Navarro, APC operator; Maria Cruz, reporter/camera operator; Ana Casablanca, anchor; Isaac Molina, reporter; Angel Castro, reporter; Alejandro Contreras, reporter; Leslie Solis, reporter; Mia Medellin, reporter; and Londy Ramirez, reporter/camera operator.
The Arlington Sentinel was established in spring 2022 by the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Communication under the leadership of journalism instructor Geoffrey Campbell to serve news desert communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and to provide the department’s journalism students with experiential learning opportunities in community journalism.
Originally known as the Lone Star Sentinel, this vehicle for the news desert initiative now focuses its coverage on Arlington, Texas. In fall 2023, the effort expanded to include work by television broadcast students producing the Spanish-language ASNE weekly broadcast and the English-language Arlington Sentinel News weekly broadcast. Thanks to support from a Scripps Howard Fund grant awarded to a team of UTA Communication faculty including Vinicio Sinta, Campbell and Rodriguez, both ASNE and ASN are part of the cross-platform news operation known as the Arlington Sentinel.
