WKAR TV received a national award during the 2018 National Educational Telecommunications Association Awards gala on Jan. 21, 2019.
The awards gala was the opening event of the 2019 NETA Conference and CPB Public Media Thought Leaders Forum at the Marriott Downtown in City Creek hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The award WKAR TV received was in the category: "Community Engagement Based on a Local Initiative," for the Playtime Pad Research Project. WKAR is in year two of this research study which investigates the effectiveness of tablet-based learning in kindergartners and showcases a collaborative effort between WKAR, MSU's College of Education, MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences, PBS KIDS and the Lansing School District.
"It was an honor representing our amazing WKAR team at the NETA awards ceremony in Salt Lake City," said Julie Sochay, WKAR content and community engagement manager. "Receiving an award for our PBS KIDS Playtime Pad project is especially important as it brings awareness to the growing educational needs within our local schools and beyond, and shows how meaningful collaborations, such as the group the Playtime Pad project brought together, can make a large impact within our communities."
The 2018 NETA awards were presented to 31 projects from public television stations across the country. The competition honors member stations' finest work in community engagement, promotion, instructional media and content production.
"Every one of us working in public media today can be proud of the NETA Award winners," said Eric Hyyppa, NETA president. "When you look at the achievements that these projects represent, making our services relevant and valuable to our communities, you can't help but be inspired for the future."
WKAR was very pleased to receive the national awards at the 2018 NETA Awards gala and looks forward to continuing to provide award winning content.
