News Releases

RTDNF Announces Five Freedoms PSA Student Winners

CONTACT: Carol Knopes, 202-834-1316, carolk@rtdnf.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2010

WASHINGTON – A colonial rap song and a Gummi Bears animation took top honors at the Fourth Annual Five Freedoms PSA competition. Schools across the country were challenged to produce 30-second public service announcement videos about the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment. Judges chose from more than 350 entries.

The $2,000 Grand Prize Winner is "The Right to R.A.P.P.S." by Elizabeth Gordon of Jonesville High School in Jonesville, MI.; her teacher is Linda Brown. The 30-second video features a colonial rapper teaching the Five Freedoms through the mnemonic “R.A.P.P.S.”  (Religion, Assembly, Petition, Press and Speech). Judges remarked that the video was “very watchable, entertaining” “legally accurate” and “a great concept, beautifully executed.”

The $500 First Place Winner in the Middle School Category is Our Five Freedoms by Kira Myers of Windy Ridge School in Orlando, FL.; her teacher is Michael Cohen. Gummi Bears march across the screen to demonstrate the Five Freedoms. Judges praised the technical continuity and visuals as “very clever” “very imaginative” and “perfect for a youth audience.”

The Five Freedoms PSA Contest is sponsored by RTDNF’s High School Broadcast Journalism Project, the Student Television Network, and SchoolTube. It is funded through a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

In the High School competition, other winners are:

•    Second Place ($500) Years Past by Mark Serrano and Marianne Alva, James Logan High School, Union City, CA (Teacher: James Rardin)

•    Third Place ($250) Five Freedoms, One Day by Jacob Derryberry and Brennan Lane, McKinney High School, McKinney, TX (Teacher: Alyssa Armentrout)

In the Middle School category, other winners are:

•    Second Place Tie ($250) Many Voices: One Purpose by Zach Geist, Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School, Omaha, NE (Teacher: Laura Chytka)

•    Second Place Tie ($250) Use Em or Lose Em PSA by Kailee Pelino, Castaic Middle School, Castaic, CA (Teacher: Ro Osano).

To see the winning videos and learn more about the contest, go to www.hsbj.org.

About RTDNF

The Radio Television Digital News Foundation works to promote excellence in electronic journalism through research, education and training for news professionals and journalism educators. RTDNF is the educational arm of the Radio Television Digital News Association, the world's largest professional organization exclusively serving electronic news professionals and educators.