Academy Awards and mtvU seek college journalists for red carpet coverage

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU recently announced their second annual "Oscar® Correspondent Contest." The competition focuses on college journalists and winners will receive a trip to Los Angeles to cover red carpet festivities and backstage activities at the 82nd Academy Awards®.

From Oct. 26 through Dec. 18, college students are invited to submit a video at oscars.mtvu.com, showcasing their broadcast journalism skills and proving why they deserve to cover the Oscars®. All videos submitted must be from teams made up of one anchor and one videographer, according to an Academy press release.

The Academy and mtvU will select the top ten videos to be posted online at mtvU.com, where students and other viewers can watch and vote for their favorite journalists from Jan. 20 through Feb. 10.

The three teams who win the most votes will be in the final round of online voting from Feb. 16 through March 2. All three teams will be flown to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards® pre-events, including the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award press event, the Makeup Artist and Hairstylist Symposium and the Governors Ball preview.

The Grand Prize-winning college team will be revealed on Saturday, March 6 at an Academy press conference.

The Grand Prize-winning anchor and videographer will be awarded a spot on the red carpet for the 82nd Academy Awards® arrivals, and credentials for access to backstage press rooms. In addition, the winning team's coverage will be aired on MTV News and mtvU. The two finalist teams will receive bleacher seats along the red carpet and admission to an Oscar® viewing party.

"We are always looking for ways to bring the Academy Awards to life and to make it interesting to younger audiences," said Leslie Unger, Communications Director for the Academy. "The Contest is an amazing media cultural event with journalists from all over the world. Students can start their careers as journalists and have an opportunity to jump right in and be a part of the biggest media event seen in over two-hundred countries."

Community colleges are welcome to compete, said Janice Gatti of mtvU. For a complete list of rules and regulations for the "Oscar® Correspondent Contest'" visit oscars.mtvu.com.

mtvU is broadcast to more than 750 college campuses to 700 college communities nationwide, according to the Academy. "mtvU reaches upwards of 9 million U.S. college students-making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students." Additionally, mtvU owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the United States.

Submitted entries to the "Oscar® Correspondence Contest" do not need to be mtvU associates to be eligible, according to Unger. "Entrants only need to be verified as a student," she said.

Various Minnesota campus affiliates include the University of St. Thomas, Concordia University, and St. Cloud State University, according to Gatti. "As for the University of Minnesota, mtvU has offered the channel to the university. We would be thrilled if they were to decide to make the network available on campus," she said.

Last year's winners of the "Oscar® Correspondent Contest" were from Rice University. Finalists were from San Diego State University and Fordham University. No students from Minnesota applied last year, said Tarrah Lee Curtis, publicist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

The Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 9, 2010.

Barb Teed

Barb Teed (barbteed@tcdailyplanet.net) has a Bachelor's degree in Media Studies from New School University, NYC and is enrolled in a graduate program at Hamline University in St. Paul.