Shelley Winner Says Media Not A Public Enemy

KTIV anchor Matt Breen interviews Rachelle Karstens the new president of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City.

President Trump is too extreme in his criticism of the news media, says Matt Breen, the 2018 Jack Shelley Award winner.

“I understand the First Amendment allows him to speak about us just as it allows us to have freedom to report,” Breen, KTIV anchor and reporter in Sioux City, said. “But to call us an enemy of the people goes too far.”

The president, Breen says, has millions of supporters who will believe what he says even without any evidence.

Local stations across the country have been fair and accurate in their reporting, Breen said. It’s a small number of news outlets “from the fringes of our industry who sort of shout into the wind to get attention” that have biased reporting, he said. He’s always tried to be objective in his 23 years of reporting, and hasn’t worked with any journalists who don’t follow the basic tenets of accuracy and fairness, Breen said.

Those are reasons that led KTIV News Director Keith Bliven to nominate Breen for the Jack Shelley Award. Bliven says Breen is also a mentor. “He takes time to help the young journalists at KTIV get better.  Not just by showing them their mistakes but how to keep from making them in the future, thereby helping them grow.”

 Breen received the Shelley Award at the 2018 IBNA convention for “outstanding contributions to the field of broadcast journalism.” The award is the highest honor a broadcast journalist in Iowa can receive and has been presented annually since 1972 by the association. (See a full list of past winners.)

The name of the winner is kept secret until the announcement at the annual banquet. Breen said he was “in utter shock and disbelief” when he heard his name. He says he is  honored to receive the award named after Iowa’s legendary newsman. “If there was a Mt. Rushmore for Iowa journalists, Jack Shelley would be the first likeness on it,” he said.

Breen says journalists make a difference in people’s lives and are “absolutely essential.” Citing coverage of the 2011 Missouri River flood as an example, Breen said news outlets, including KTIV, provided invaluable information to people displaced by the flood. It was a major commitment to reporting as the flood and clean-up went on for two and a half months that summer. It was by far the biggest story he has covered, Breen said.

Breen’s commitment has often come at a “great sacrifice to his family,” Bliven wrote in his nomination of Breen for the award. “He has missed ballgames and many other important dates in his family’s lives to be at work to make sure the news was delivered,” Bliven said.

Somehow he balances it all though. “Matt is a family man, husband and dad,” Bliven says. “He is the type of father I would like to be someday.”

While Breen is a serious journalist, his career has had its lighter moments. Early in his career, Breen was a weatherman as well as a reporter at KTTC in Rochester, Minnesota. He recalled a letter from a viewer who said she appreciated his weather reports, but thought he delivered them with a bit too much enthusiasm.

“You look like one of those wind-up monkey toys,” she wrote. “I’ll never forget that, he chuckled. “I might have toned it down since then.”

Watch a tribute video to Matt Breen.

Message From IBNA Board President Tom Robinson

To IBNA Members:

The 2019 Iowa Broadcast News Association Annual Convention and Awards Banquet is set for Saturday, April 13, at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Convention Center, 5291 Stoney Creek Court in Johnston, Iowa.

The contest entries for work done in 2018 may be submitted from January 1, 2019, through January 25, 2019.

There are a couple of changes for those submitting entries for the category of the best newscast and best sportscast on one of the six designated dates. This category is now open to anyone who is a member of a Television or Radio Station who anchors a newscast or sportscast on one of the six dates. Additionally, The designated newscast and sportscast dates no longer apply to college students. The board voted to allow students to submit one newscast and one sportscast of their choice produced on a day of their choice and aired in 2018.

Please check the website and our facebook page for future announcements and articles.
We look forward to seeing all of you at the Convention.

Sincerely,
IBNA Board President, Tom Robinson

2018 Second Best Newscast/Best Sportscast Dates

The Iowa Broadcast News Association has designated the second of six TV and radio best newscast and best sportscast dates for the 2018 IBNA awards contest.

The contest date for TV stations is August 14. This means that television newscasts and sportscasts which aired on Tuesday (August 14) are eligible to enter their work in those categories of the IBNA’s annual awards competition.

The contest date for radio stations is August 15. This means that television newscasts and sportscasts which air today (August 15) are eligible to enter their work in those categories of the IBNA’s annual awards competition.

Entries will be submitted in January 2019. Until then stations should retain a digital file of the audio/video as well as a rundown of stories and sources (wire, beat, enterprise, and network).

 

2018 First Best Newscast-Best Sportscast Dates

The Iowa Broadcast News Association has designated the first of six TV and radio best newscast and best sportscast dates for the 2018 IBNA awards contest.

The contest date for TV stations is July 19. This means that television newscasts and sportscasts which aired on Thursday (July 19) are eligible to enter their work in those categories of the IBNA’s annual awards competition.

The contest date for radio stations is July 20. This means that television newscasts and sportscasts which air today (July 20) are eligible to enter their work in those categories of the IBNA’s annual awards competition.

Entries will be submitted in January 2019. Until then stations should retain a digital file of the audio/video as well as a rundown of stories and sources (wire, beat, enterprise, and network).

IBNA hires new executive director

The following letter to the membership is from IBNA President Bob Fisher

Members of the IBNA:

First of all, I want to thank you for your patience. We know that you’ve been wondering about our search for a new Executive Director as well as the status of this year’s awards contest.

The Iowa Broadcast News Association Board of Directors is proud to announce the hiring of Anne-Marie Taylor of Iowa City as its new Executive Director. Following interviews with the executive committee and the full board, members met in Des Moines on January 13th and voted unanimously to approve her hiring.

Anne-Marie brings 25 years of experience working with nonprofit associations and political groups to the position.  She also has experience in fundraising and a law degree.

Most importantly, Anne-Marie has experience and an interest in journalism and working with journalists.  She served was the founding development director for Investigate West, a nonprofit news organization in Seattle.  Anne-Marie has also served as a fundraising consultant for Iowa Watch.  Her interest in journalism also comes in part from her husband Daniel Lathrop. He is a former reporter who is currently a Journalism and Mass Communication professor at the University of Iowa.

The IBNA board is excited to have Anne-Marie join our organization, and we believe you as members will feel the same way. Anne-Marie has hit the ground running and is working with the board to get the annual contest information out, and on our plans for the annual convention.

We will be telling you more about Anne-Marie soon and how you can meet her.

We will post information about the awards contest during the day on Thursday. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail

Bob Fisher
President, Iowa Broadcast News Association
KGLO-AM/Alpha Media of Mason City
(641) 423-1300
robert.fisher@alphamediausa.com