WEIU-FM and TV Wins Six Awards At The 2026 Illinois Broadcasters Association Awards Ceremony

Eastern Illinois University’s student broadcasters had a strong showing at the Illinois Broadcasters Association’s Annual Awards Ceremony in Springfield last week, walking away with SIX ‘Student Silver Dome Awards!’ Adding to their busy evening of winning, seven additional finalist recognitions were earned across television, radio, news, sports, weather, and photojournalism. That’s a lot of hardware heading home to Charleston!

WEIU Television and Radio earned wins in some of the most competitive categories in the student division. Austin Perez took home two awards on his own, winning both ‘Best Sports Package’ for “Illinois Marathon” and ‘Best Radio Sports Story’ for “IMLT.”

Andrew Spaid earned ‘Best News Package’ for his piece “Fit-2-Serve.” The tandem of Olivia Bennett and Matt Williamson won ‘Best Photojournalism’ for their work on “WEIU Newswatch Airs Final Television Newscast.” Ben Whitney was recognized with ‘Best Weathercast’ honors. And the WEIU-TV Newswatch program itself took home the award for ‘Best Newscast.’

Beyond the wins, seven other WEIU student entries were named finalists. Emily Davis was a finalist for both ‘Best News Package’ and ‘Best Weathercast.’ Andrew Spaid appeared again as a finalist for ‘Best Photojournalism’ for “Coles County Dragway Renovations” and ‘Best Radio Sports Story’ for “Linder’s Renovation.”

Three students including: Ethan Vine, Andrew Spaid, and Matt Williamson, were finalists for ‘Best News Package’ with “Harvest To Home.” Bennett and Williamson also earned a second finalist nod for ‘Best Photojournalism’ for “Firefighters Tend To Explosion in Mattoon.” And Emmett Micklo was recognized as a finalist for ‘Best Radio Longform Entertainment Program’ for his “Summer Hits Special.”

WEIU General Manager Jeff Owens said the amount of recognition across so many different categories is what makes this class of award recipients special. “To have thirteen different student entries recognized across television, radio, news, sports, weather and photojournalism is a tremendous accomplishment,” Owens said. “These awards are a reflection of their talent, creativity and dedication.”

WEIU Digital TV and WEIU-FM are operated by Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois and serve audiences throughout Central Illinois! Congratulations to this next batch of broadcasters to come out of EIU!