Every year, Ashland University selects a student organization that best captures the spirit and values of AU. This year, Journalism and Digital Media’s very own AUTV has taken the title. 

In a ceremony at Upper Convo on Sunday, April 21, JDM senior William Currier accepted the award on behalf of the AUTV team,  

John Skrada, director of Broadcasting and Operations for AUTV, spoke to the Collegian about his initial thoughts on the win. He said, “I’ll be totally honest with you, I didn’t even know we were submitting anything this year. We tried last year too, and we got beat out, but it’s good to be recognized by the university.” 

As the only TV station in Ashland County, AUTV has been incredibly busy this year. Between a station rebrand, a shift to a brand-new high-definition TV channel, new programming, and producing over 300 programs over the course of the year, students and faculty have been working tirelessly to ensure everything runs smoothly, providing news and entertainment to the Ashland community. 

Dr. David McCoy, the chair of the Journalism and Digital Media Department, confirmed that he was the one to nominate AUTV for the award. He said, “I decided it was important to nominate AUTV for the student organization of the year … This year we are amazingly blessed and fortunate to win.” 

As for what JDM has done to improve its chances this year, the people in charge are chalking it up to two things: the students and the programming. 

On the programming side, John pointed out two programs. The Watchers of the Sky video podcast with Dr. Campo has been quite successful since it first aired in 2021, which he chalks up to the longer format. Also, he commended the excellent work this year in producing AUTV’s signature News and Sports Breaks.  

In terms of notable students, John and Dr. McCoy mentioned a few names. Ethan Jenkins, Lauren Gulden, Will Currier, Kyle Doerschuk, Bella Fredritz and Cade Cracas were just a few of the students singled out as contributing heavily to the success of AUTV. 

While AUTV has frequently been ranked in the top 5 college television stations in the United States by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, this is the first time that it has ever been recognized here in Ashland.

Dr. McCoy said, “Winning this … is kind of a cool thing, because it’s a home thing. A lot of times you don’t think a media organization would ever win that. I can’t remember, in the history of JDM, that we’ve ever won. I was kind of surprised … but I think we deserved a win.” 

After this historic win, the JDM department is looking to keep up the momentum. Dr. McCoy particularly wants to expand the reach of AUTV beyond the AU campus. 

He said, “When you look at student organizations, you look at how much outreach they provide … we are reaching out more, not only to the campus community, but we’re trying to get to the greater community… We’re making the push of giving student news, but also news to the community.” 

As for John, he’s also setting lofty goals.  

He said, “I don’t know if you can win it two years in a row… but I think it should be a goal for us to try to win it every year.”