I am incredibly honored and beyond excited to announce that I am now a two-time Emmy winning journalist!
I got the unbelievable news that The Boston/New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences selected two of my news reports to win first place in the Student Production Awards… AKA the College Emmys. A third news report of mine was also nominated for a College Emmy. The awards will be presented on June 7, in Boston. (Watch my winning stories below.) Here is the link to the winners list on the Emmy website >
This is a huge honor and I am incredibly grateful to the Academy for these awards. I’ve dreamed of being a news reporter since I was 12 years old, and it feels amazing to be recognized for my reporting. And, yes, now that I am graduating in two weeks, I am looking for a reporting job.
Win #1: Charles Gibson Interview
My first Emmy win was in “General Assignment Reporting: Light News,” for this news story about former ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson reflecting on covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Gibson was on the air when the planes crashed into the World Trade Centers, and in my interview with him, he described the difficulty of covering the “most important story” he ever reported.
One of the things I am most proud of about these Emmy wins, is that this interview is a clip of a web show I created called MH Reports. I’m the executive producer, anchor, editor and graphic designer for this show. That means, MH Reports is my baby. I am so proud that a show I created myself is now an Emmy-winning news show! Wow!
Win #2: Sen. Richard Blumenthal Spending
I won the “Animation/Graphics/Special Effects” College Emmy for this infographic about Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and his congressional spending in his first two years in office. I dug through hundreds of pages of congressional budget documents to find the information, and created this motion graphic in Adobe After Effects.
Anyone who knows me knows that one of my biggest passions after reporting is graphic design. This project was so fun because I was able to combine those two passions.
Nomination: Nightmare Bacteria
I was nominated for a College Emmy in the “General Assignment Reporting: Serious News” category for this story about drug resistant bacteria. I investigated the CDC’s announcement that?”nightmare bacteria” could cause “catastrophic consequences.” I spoke to a woman who had a drug resistant infection–MRSA–and survived. She got the infection while she was in the hospital, and doctors say that is a common source.
Thank You
First of all, I want to thank the Boston/New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for these amazing honors. My professors deserve credit for their help, advice and support: Edward Alwood, Karin Schwanbeck, Brett Orzechowski, Kenneth Venit, Bill Schwanbeck and others. Special thanks to Quinnipiac School of Communications Dean Lee Kamlet.
A big thanks to my parents Mohammed and Harriet Harun, my grandparents Walter and Sandy Petroskey, and my brother, Eunes.
And of course thanks to my crew who helped me out a lot: Stefan Aleo, Johan Corilla, Robert Grant and Jennifer Palmer.
