Winning Team Gets Spot on the Red Carpet for the 81st Academy Awards
Two freshmen film students from New York Universitys Kanbar Institute of Film and Television in the Tisch School of the Arts have been named one of the top ten finalist teams in the first-ever Oscar Correspondent Contest, giving college journalists nationwide the chance to head to Los Angeles to cover red carpet festivities and backstage celebrations at the 81st Academy Awards. The Kanbar students are Diana Snyder, anchor, and Mike Ren, videographer.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU, MTVs 24-hour college network, invited students to submit a video showcasing their broadcast journalism skills and asking them to prove why they deserve to cover the Oscars®. All videos submitted had to be from a team made up of one anchor and one videographer. The top ten videos selected are posted online at mtvU.com, where viewers can vote for their favorite journalists from February 2 through February 11.
Three teams will advance to the final round of online voting from February 12 to February 20. All three teams will be flown to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards pre-events.
The Grand Prize team will be revealed on Friday, February 20, at an Academy press conference and awarded a spot on the red carpet for the 81st Academy Awards arrivals as well as credentials for access to backstage press rooms. The two finalist teams will receive bleacher seats along the red carpet and admission to an Oscar® viewing party.
Snyder, from Harrison, NY, and Ren, from Raleigh, NC, are both 18 and met last semester while students in associate professor Carlos De Jesus Digital Frame and Sequence class in the Kanbar Institute. Viewers can vote for Snyder and Ren by going online at: http://www.mtvu.com/win/2009-oscars-student-correspondent.