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The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation Presents the 2020 Broadcast Historian Award to Contested Ground: The Tunnel and the Struggle over Television News in Cold War America, by Mike Conway

 

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) is pleased to announce the winner of its 2020 Broadcast Historian Award is Mike Conway, Indiana University, for his book, Contested Ground:

“The Tunnel” and the Struggle over Television News in Cold War America.

NBC’s Reuven Frank is at the center of Contested Ground: “The Tunnel” and the Struggle over Television News in Cold War America, as producer of the 1962 documentary “The Tunnel” and creator of the most popular journalism source of the period, NBC’s nightly newscast, “The Huntley-Brinkley Report.” The production and reception of the documentary, and all of television news, bring into focus a major upheaval in American news communication and the competition involved as government leaders, journalism competitors, and other groups fought over the shifting media landscape.

The LABF supports a broadcast archive housed at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.  Conway has graciously agreed to donate a copy of his book to the archives.  Conway will receive a $5,000 check at BEA’s annual convention (BEA2020) in Las Vegas at an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 19, and will discuss his book during a session on Monday, April 20.   “This award is very special to me because the Library of American Broadcasting archive at the University of Maryland has been an invaluable resource for my research,” said Mike Conway. “In addition, the BEA has been instrumental in helping broadcast scholars present and promote our work.”

In 2015 LABF and BEA partnered to establish the annual Broadcast Historian Award.  With the support of LABF, BEA annually awards $5,000 to an educator who has published or produced work specifically related to broadcast history.  The award is given to an author of a book or a producer of a documentary/multimedia project in alternating years.  A call for the 2021 Broadcast Historian Award, for a creative project, will be available this spring.  For additional information on Mike Conway and his book Contested Ground: “The Tunnel” and the Struggle over Television News in Cold War America, visit www.BEAweb.org.

Mike Conway is a media historian specializing in broadcast news history of the twentieth century. He is an associate professor of journalism at Indiana University’s Media School. Before becoming a professor, he spent more than 15 years in local television news, working as a reporter, photographer, anchor, producer, and news director.

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