BEA Festival of Media Art Winners Announced
BEA this year congratulates our 426 students and 48 Faculty Winners from over 2,350 combined entries.
The 2026 faculty competitions had an overall acceptance rate of 21.81% and student competitions had an overall acceptance rate of 20%.
BEA Awards the 2026 BEA Textbook Award to Writing, Making, and Distributing Your Short Film: How the Short Film Can Advance Your Craft and Career by Chris Easterly, Regent University
This book (published by Routledge) is a concise and practical guide to writing and making a successful short film. In an accessible and relatable tone, the book covers the filmmaking process from plot ideation to film distribution, without getting bogged down in the complicated details. Written by an experienced writer and filmmaker, the book shows you how to create content, from script to screen, that can connect with an audience. It does so by considering classic storytelling templates like Aristotle’s Three-Act Structure and Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey”, as well as examining a variety of successful short films—analyzing what makes them work, or not, and why.
BEA Awards the 2026 Innovation in Teaching Award to Milton Santiago
Milton Santiago is a Bronx-born cinematographer, educator, and creative technologist whose work bridges professional production, hands-on pedagogy, and emerging AI-enabled storytelling. He is an assistant professor of Visual Communications at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Director of the Advanced Military Visual Journalism (AMVJ) program, a longstanding initiative that equips enlisted service members with advanced training in photography, design, and video production.
BEA Awards the 2026 BEA Book Award to Margaret Peacock, University of Alabama
This book (published by University of California Press) traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world that was characterized by deceit and betrayal. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in western and secular state solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of Political Islam.
The Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media awarded to Danielle Beverly
The Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media has been awarded to Danielle Beverly for her documentary project, Eyes on the Prize Reclaimed.
BEA Journals See Growth in 2025
Each year, Taylor & Francis provides an overview of BEA journal performance using a range of usage metrics. The 2025 report shows total full-text article views across all formats and indicates increased downloads for both Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (JOBEM) and the Journal of Radio & Audio Media (JRAM). We thank our authors and readers for their continued engagement, and a special thanks to our journal editors for their ongoing work and oversight. Learn More
BEA Introduces a Series of Convention Spotlights
BEA attendees can plan their schedule by using Interest Division tracks, or by Convention Spotlights. Spotlights are programmed session clusters focused on key topics and communities. These “mini-conferences” and are an added way to help registrants find and connect with colleagues and content.
In this week’s newsletter we’re showcasing the AI Spotlight. The AI Spotlight focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in media and communication, including its impact on content, production, education, research, regulation, and society. Sessions examine both the opportunities and challenges AI presents from teaching, scholarly and professional perspectives.