ATHENS, Ohio (April 30, 2009)—Two WOUB productions have been nominated for awards by the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters, which will be announced on June 7 in Columbus.

Nominated in the small market Best Enterprise Reporting category is “Good Neighbors: Bad Blood.” Produced by WOUB News student reporter Kristin Brownrigg and edited by Nick Parsons, the program premiered in September 2008 and focuses on the chemical C8 (PFOA), which is produced at DuPont near Parkersburg, W.Va. The chemical C8 has infiltrated the water systems around Parkersburg and has caused controversy about its affects on residents who have consumed the water.

Nominated in the small market Best Documentary category is “The 8th Wonder: The Waterloo Wonders.” The documentary, produced and directed by Cheri Russo, WOUB News managing editor and edited by Nick Parsons, premiered in November 2008 on WOUB-TV. The program tells the story of a basketball team from Waterloo, Ohio, who came from obscurity to take the Class B state championship in 1934 and 1935. The documentary shows how a small group of farm boys from Waterloo overcame obstacles to give hope to a region that had suffered greatly during one of the most difficult times in American history.

Russo and Parsons won an Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters award in 2008 for the documentary “Akron Ohio: The City Where Commercial Television News Went Black,” which explored why Akron is one of the largest cities in the nation without commercial television news.

The WOUB Center for Public Media, a unit of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, operates 6 television services, WOUB-HD Channel 20.1 in Athens, digital channels WOUB Classic, 20.2; and WOUB Learns, 20.3. WOUC--HD Channel 44.1 in Cambridge, digital channels WOUB Unlimited, 44.2; WOUB Select, 44.3; one cable channel-WOUB II, and six radio stations--WOUB-1340 AM, WOUB-91.3 FM, WOUC-89.1FM, WOUH-91.9 FM, WOUL-89.1 FM and WOUZ-90.1 FM. The Center, a trusted community resource, uses the power of noncommercial television, radio and other media, such as the World Wide Web, to enrich the lives of children and adults in southeastern Ohio, western West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky through quality programs and educational services that inform, enlighten, inspire and entertain.

Contact: WOUB Public Information Coordinator Kelly Martin at 740-593-4944 or martink1@ohio.edu