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2009 Evening Edition Signup Form - Download the PDF at mcma.siu.edu/forms/Evening_Edition_SignupFall09.pdf

The WSIU TV Production form is available at mcma.siu.edu/forms/TVPROD_Signup_Fall2009.pdf

View the 2009 Graduates of the River Region Evening Edition TV News team

More than seventy students from across the SIUC camps come together each semester to produce River Region Evening Edition, a live, half-hour newscast aired on WSIU-TV. The program airs at 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the Fall and Spring terms. The Evening Edition is staffed entirely by volunteer student broadcasters and journalists-- students are completely responsible for reporting, writing, editing, producing, and anchoring the show.

Seen in more than 300,000 households across Southern Illinois and parts of Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the Evening Edition is designed with two purposes. First, it is a full-service newscast, competing head-to-head with other local news programs to keep the public informed. Second, it gives students the opportunity to work in a genuine news environment with real deadline pressure.

SIUC students from any major are welcome to learn and grow in the Evening Edition newsroom. In addition to Radio-Television and Journalism majors, recent volunteers in the newsroom have included students from the School of Law, the College of Engineering, the Department of Speech Communication, and majors in Rehabilitation Services.

Student volunteers get the chance to do real, honest-to-goodness journalism. Working on the Evening Edition crew means hands-on experience. Student reports learn how to make contacts, interview newsmakers, and how to use video and audio equipment in the field. Student producers learn how to write and edit broadcast news copy, with an emphasis on visual presentation. During the newscast, students staff the technical positions vital to a live television production, including cameras, video operator, graphics operator, audio operator, and technical director.

The Evening Edition is a partnership program. Faculty and staff from within MCMA work together to guide the studentsí newsroom experience, often in concert with their class work in the Department of Radio-Television. This allows students to learn much-needed skills blended with their academic studies.

The Evening Edition news team continues to garner national and regional recognition. In 2009, a student was honored with a First Place award for Best Videography by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Others received second place awards for Sports Reporting and Best Newscast. A sister program, the monthly live sports program called Saluki SportsView, also earned a First Place Award from the INBA.

The show consistently wins recognition from the Illinois Broadcasters Associationís Student Silver Dome Awards. In 2008, Evening Edition received national acclaim with Best Newscast and Best News Team honors from the Broadcast Education Association.

Photos by MCMA photography student Josh Denmark

River Region Evening Edition Faculty and Staff

Eileen Waldron

Eileen Waldron has more than twenty years of experience in TV, print and online journalism. She has worked as a general assignment reporter, special projects producer and executive producer at various major television news operations from San Francisco to Philadelphia.

Waldronís investigative journalism has won many awards including an Emmy in 2000, an Edward R. Murrow award in 2001, and an Investigative Reporter and Editorís finalist award for online journalism. In addition to teaching reporting, writing, and performance, Waldron helps students with the production of River Region Evening Edition. She received her B.A. in broadcasting from San Francisco State University in 1983.

Joey Helleny

For 25 years, Joey Helleny was familiar to news audiences in Southern Illinois as an anchor and reporter on the areaís leading radio stations. He also wrote for print publications including the Southern Illinoisan and the St. Louis Globe Democrat. Hellenyís professional experience includes two years as the Director of SIRIS, a reading service for the visually impaired.

Since joining the SIUC faculty in 1999, Helleny has also helped oversee River Region Evening Edition. Helleny holds a B.S. in journalism from SIUC as well as a M.S. in Education, also from Southern. In 2006 he received SIUís Outstanding Term Faculty Teaching Award.

Jim Gee

News Director Jim Gee spends most of his day working the newsroom along with the students who produce River Region Evening Edition, SIUCís nationally-recognized television news program. In 2007, they were named "Best News Team" by the Broadcast Educators Association.

Gee joined SIUC in 2006 after three years as news director at WCIA-TV in Champaign, IL. Heís also worked at television stations in Virginia, Michigan, and Peoria, IL.

Gee is president of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and helps organize conventions for the stateís professional and student journalists. He holds a B.S. in Communication from Illinois State University.

Mark Wetstein

Mark Wetstein is the TV Production Coordinator for WSIU Public Broadcasting. As part of his many duties, he supervises the student production staff for River Region Evening Edition. Mark also constructed the Evening Edition news set, donated to SIUC from FOX 2 in St. Louis.

Mark also operates WSIUís satellite uplink trucks, which allows live coverage of news and sporting events in southern Illinois. Before coming to WSIU, Mark worked at SIUCís Shryock Auditorium. This year he also serves as president of SIUCís Civil Service Council.