2024 BEA Diversity and Inclusion Creative Award: Rockin Baker by Ringo Jones, University of Arkansas Fayetteville
For Immediate Release: April 2, 2024
Contact: Heather Birks |
Washington, D.C. – The 2024 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Diversity and Inclusion Creative Award has been presented to Ringo Jones, University of Arkansas Fayetteville for his documentary, Rockin Baker.
The film follows Daymara Baker, who walks away from a senior position at a multinational brand to bake bread and change the world. Rockin’ Baker Academy is a workforce development program that provides cadet bakers with intellectual disabilities a comprehensive set of marketable skills that translate easily to the culinary industry and many other jobs.
“I first met Daymara Baker when I interviewed her for a story about food insecurity”, notes Jones. “I quickly realized the bakery and Daymara were a story themselves and found myself waking up at three in the morning to watch the bread rise and bake. I witnessed the incredible impact meaningful work and camaraderie can have on someone’s life. Bakers that had never been given the opportunity because of their disabilities were thriving in the bakery and starting to come out of their shells. Relationships were formed and bonds were made. I knew that Rockin Baker was changing lives and I wanted to tell their story.”
Jones serves as assistant professor of communication at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. Jones’ research interests include music streaming, interactive storytelling and virtual/augmented reality. Jones’ documentaries and interactive stories screen on PBS stations around the world, film and music festivals, museums and conferences.
The BEA Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) committee works to support BEA’s mission to take seriously our leadership responsibility to provide equal access and opportunity by fostering academic excellence, diversity, and inclusion among students, faculty, and media professionals. The BEA D&I committee seeks to promote research and creative work that addresses issues of diversity and inclusion in areas of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, country of origin, political affiliation, veteran status, field of research, socioeconomic status, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Each year the committee reviews award candidates that have been self-selected from BEA’s interest division research competitions and the Festival of Media Arts faculty creative competition.
About the BEA Convention – BEA’s annual convention is held in conjunction with NAB Show in Las Vegas every spring. Co-located next door at the Westgate Hotel and Casino, BEA’s annual convention attracts 1,200 educators and students with 250 sessions, events, research panels, technology workshops and an exhibit hall, making BEA the largest conference partner of NAB Show.
About the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) – BEA is the professional association for professors, industry professionals and graduate students interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises. There are currently more than 2,500 individual and institutional members worldwide. Visit www.beaweb.org for more information.
Visit www.beaweb.org for more information
