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Written by Pete Rosenbery Wednesday, 06 May 2009 12:51

News - Student News and Awards

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- As he prepares to receive his masterís degree on Friday, May 8, a Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate student is collecting awards and high praise for his documentary work.

Chris Yoarsí introspective look at the December 1951 New Orient No. 2 underground mine disaster earned a Best of Festival King Foundation Award in the audio category at the Broadcast Education Associationís Festival of Media Arts.

Along with his work chronicling the memories of community members of one of the worst mining disasters in Illinois history, another of Yoarsí projects will air on WSIU TV later this month. Yoarsí one-hour TV documentary on Gen. John A. Logan, ìBlack Jack Logan,î airs at 11 p.m., Tuesday, May, 19, with rebroadcasts at 1 p.m., Sunday, May 24, and 8 p.m., Monday, May 25.

Yoarsí approximate 13-minute radio documentary, ìWest Frankfort Mine,î intertwines music with interviews with survivors, members of victimís families, and several community members. The moving documentary, which also received first place in the Educational Program Category, provides an oral history of the Dec. 21, 1951, explosion that killed 119 men.

He received the award, which includes a $1,000 prize, last month at the BEA convention in Las Vegas. The competition received a record 878 faculty and student submissions in 13 categories.

The idea for the radio documentary came from the 2006 book, ìDeath Undergound: The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters,î by Robert F. Hartley, and David Kenney, professor emeritus of political science, author and historian. Southern Illinois University Press published the book.

Yoars, who is from Carol Stream, is in professional media and media management studies. He viewed the project as a way to collect the oral histories and give back to Southern Illinois. The radio documentary initially began as a class assignment. It was at the urging of his wife, Katie, that Yoars submitted the entry.

WSIU is always looking for student-produced content to feature on the station, and became interested in the project because of the interest and importance to the local community, said Jeff Williams, station manager and news and public affairs director for WSIU radio. Williams said the documentary was well researched, well produced and edited, and required little editorial input.

ìChris did an excellent job, he is an outstanding producer,î Williams said. ìHe has a feel for telling a story, and utilizing the elements of oral history to help tell this story of the people who experienced this terrible disaster.î

The documentary connected with station listeners, as well, Williams said.

The documentary aired on WSIU and is available via online podcast at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wsiu/.jukebox?action=viewMedia&mediaId=807863.

ìItís a great example of the type of collaboration that we actively seek at the station with the students in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts,î Williams said. ìWe regularly encourage and solicit this type of student production work.î

Yoars earned a bachelorís degree in journalism and mass communications at Iowa State University. He will not be the only family member who walks the commencement line Friday; Katie Yoars will earn her masterís degree in political science.

Yoars said he has an interest in history and natural history, and wants to go into media production, possibly as an independent media producer. He started work on the upcoming Logan documentary in 2007.

ìI am very proud of Chris Yoars and what he was capable of accomplishing with his thesis project. His documentary, ëBlack Jack Logan,í is of the utmost professional standards and his story-telling skills are evident,î said Jan Thompson, an associate professor in radio-television, and Yoarsí adviser in the radio-television documentary unit.

Yoars is a teaching/research/graduate assistant in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.

ìItís certainly great to have it on WSIU and I think itís one way to give back to the community,î Yoars said. ìThis is a person of local interest. Itís great local programming for Southern Illinois to showcase their local hero.î

Jak Tichenor, a producer with WSIU Public Broadcasting, said Yoarsí approached him last fall asking if he was interested in providing narration for the Logan project. Already familiar with Yoarsí previous work on the regionís coal mining history, Tichenor said he was impressed by the detail Yoarsí goes into in terms of his sources, and the quality of his writing.

ìChris has an eye for these kinds of projects; heís got a passion for it,î Tichenor said. ìI think heís going to do very well and represent SIUC very well in the professional field. This is a young man who is going to make a name for himself.î

Tichenor said the documentary features good storytelling, very good visuals, and the insight from excellent Logan sources.

ìWeíve always liked to work as closely as we can with faculty and promising students not only in our college, but around the University,î Tichenor said. ìChris really stands out as one of those very promising young people who is doing work at a level that is basically commensurate with established professionals in the field. Heís got a passion for history and he wanted a project that hadnít been explored before, at least in video form.î

Source: Saluki Times on news.siu.edu

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