Rebecca Ann Lind, Associate Professor Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago, has been named the 2026 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Distinguished Education Service Award (DESA) winner. Click here to read the full release.

John M. Woody dedicated 30 years to James Madison University, serving as a full professor of Media Studies until retiring in 2015. A specialist in advanced video post-production, he was known for blending creative storytelling with emerging technology in the classroom. In 2001, he was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in recognition of his leadership in integrating innovative technology into media education.

Steve Anderson is an Emeritus Professor of Interactive Design and former director of the School of Media Arts & Design at James Madison University. His award-winning websites have earned top honors from BEA (Best of Festival), AEJMC (Best of the Web), and the W3 Awards, and he also developed an iOS app for the Apple App Store. He was selected as an Adobe Education Leader in recognition of his innovative use of Adobe tools in the classroom.

• LABF presents the 2026 Broadcast Historian Award to The Archivability of Television: Essays on Preservation and Perseverance
• Introducing the Lifetime Achievement in Creative Scholarship Presented to James Madison University’s Steve Anderson and John Woody
• 2026 New Faculty Research Grant to Shannon Scovel, University of Tennessee
• 2026 Textbook Award: Writing, Making, and Distributing Your Short Film: How the Short Film Can Advance Your Craft and Career by Chris Easterly, Regent University
• 2026 Innovation in Teaching Award to Milton Santiago, Syracuse University
• The Leibner Cooper Grant for Creative Productions on the History of Media awarded to Danielle Beverly

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.

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%.