Bay News Now brings home two first-place wins at BASH Awards
Oyster Bay High School's student broadcasting team had a landmark day at the Broadcast Alliance for Senior High (BASH) Awards last week, returning home with two first-place victories. Beyond competing, OBHS was also selected as the host school for the event, with Bay News Now (BNN) anchors Noah Kingsley and James Ortiz writing and emceeing the ceremony.
The team, composed of students from Mr. Dollin's TV Production class was hard at work well before the official ceremony began. They stuffed hundreds of swag bags for attendees and led the first-ever live BASH pre-show, operating from a pop-up control room, anchoring the broadcast and filling behind-the-scenes roles. Students also served as ushers, helping seat more than 800 students from nearly 60 schools across Long Island and New York City. Senior Scarlett Fredrickson and sophomore Sienna Stewart served as presenters in the Best Live Sports Broadcast category.
The hour-long awards show, a joint effort among Oyster Bay, Bellmore-Merrick, and Harborfields High Schools, was held at Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse and aired on the official BASH YouTube page. BNN anchor James Ortiz took first place in Best School News Package for his story about a student who suffered a medical emergency at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School and was saved by the quick actions of school staff. The entire BNN team also earned first place in Best Overall Long Broadcast for their second quarterly newscast.
Our Bay News Now crew truly took over the venue at this year's BASH Ceremony, showcasing the very best of what Oyster Bay High School has to offer, said Erica Giglio Pac, Oyster Bay's Director of Fine, Performing and Media Arts. From hosting the main event to networking with industry professionals and bringing home two major first-place titles, our students and their teacher, Alex Dollin, demonstrated incredible dedication and creativity. I am immensely proud of their hard work and this well-deserved recognition.
Notable attendees included Oyster Bay graduate and former TV production student Grace Curry, who returned for her second year as a BASH Ambassador, a program that invites graduates back to assist at the event. Industry professionals in the audience included Pat Stahl, Chantee Lans, and Chris Kirchner of WABC-TV, and Marian Porges of the NBC Universal News Group.
I'm so proud of our Oyster Bay students who continually challenge themselves to work harder and create meaningful stories in new ways, said TV production and media teacher Alex Dollin. They more than rose to the challenge of hosting the BASH Awards this year and really worked together as a team to put together an impressive live pre-show. I hope that is something we can continue to expand upon next year.
The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District is proud of these students for their commitment and hard work, and extends its gratitude to Mr. Dollin for his continued mentorship and leadership.
