Recognized nationally, WTV Daily Update named Pacemaker finalist

The+WTV+Daily+Update+was+named+as+a+finalist+in+the+National+Scholastic+Press+Associations+Pacemaker+competition.+This+is+the+second+year+in+a+row+that+WTV+has+received+this+nomination%2C+and+for+the+producers%2C+it+shows+that+their+hard+work+has+paid+off.

Erika Pernis

The WTV Daily Update was named as a finalist in the National Scholastic Press Association’s Pacemaker competition. This is the second year in a row that WTV has received this nomination, and for the producers, it shows that their hard work has paid off.

Rin Ryu, Managing Editor

The WTV Daily Update was nominated on Friday as one of the nation’s top scholastic broadcast programs by the National Scholastic Press Association, being named one of the 21 finalists for the Broadcast Pacemaker competition.

“Honestly, I was surprised, but I wasn’t that surprised. When you walk into our room, you see all these awards, so I wasn’t surprised that we got it again,” WTV executive producer Karina Grokhovskaya said. “It is still really cool and really nice to get nominated again, and I hope that we win many more.”

This is the second year in a row that the WTV Daily Update has been nominated, and for fellow executive producer Varun Saravanan, the nomination gives a certain amount of value to the work he and the team did during the 2021-22 school year. 

“As small as it was to see the five of us listed out on the NSPA page, it was incredibly exciting,” Saravanan said. “It makes me so much happier to know that every experience I had with the producer team last year led to that moment.”

Often coming in 30-45 minutes before school starts, and working on stories at home, the Pacemaker nomination is a payoff for the work done outside of class. 

“It really just reflects how well we’ve been doing,” Saravanan said. “Producing can get hectic, and when we get caught up in the details, we don’t really see our holistic performance as a program. All the work I’ve put in through the years pays off when we get nominated. It gives a certain value to the work I do.”

For former executive producer, and class of 2022 graduate Cooper Ragle, the recognition is a reminder of all the time and work he and the staff put into the program.

“The Pacemaker, to me, is overall just a really awesome reminder of all the hard work put in at Wingspan,” Ragle said. “While we as a program don’t need an award like that to justify the time and energy everyone puts in, it’s really nice to see that and remember that we earned it off our own efforts.”

Pacemaker Finalists are selected from across the nation and are nominated based on the quality of their content. According to NSPA associate director Gary Lungdren, nominations are chosen for their technical quality and willingness to cover relevant topics.

“The winning entries stood out for not just their technical quality, but in the stories being covered,” Lundgren said in an NSPA news release. “The writing, editing, hosting, and the willingness to tackle relevant topics make these exceptional newscasts from start to finish.”