2023 Awards

BEC-TV PRESS RELEASE -- May 1, 2023

BEC-TV recently received awards from the Upper Midwest Emmy Foundation for the best Live Sports Production, with two BEC-TV productions tying for the honor. Schools from across the Midwest competed for the Student Production Awards, which are given at both the High School and College level. 

Longtime BEC-TV director, Tom Ringdal, is proud of his student volunteers who team together from all of Bloomington’s Middle and High schools. 

“I love working with these kids and the adult professionals who mentor them. Their skill and passion is clear as they work together to create award-winning programming for our community.” 

The two winning programs—BEC-TV's Football and Girls Hockey coverage—were led respectively by student producers Malachi Martichuski (Kennedy senior) and Sofia Pehrson (Jefferson senior). Having tied as winners for the entire Midwest, both BEC-TV productions advance to vie for a national award from the Emmy organization.

Each spring, the Emmy Foundation also acknowledges an “AV All Star,"  a student chosen from schools across the entire midwest who exemplifies excellence in working behind the scenes to make the magic of television happen. 

This year, BEC-TV’s Malachi Martichuski, a Kennedy senior, was selected from students from across the midwest. Along with his work with BEC-TV, Martichuski helped reboot Kennedy’s school news program as a club activity, and now helps lead nearly 20 students in producing “Eastside Edition” live for the school each week. 

Says Ringdal, "Malachi is a real joy to work with. His dedication, leadership, and talent make him a great asset to our program and to the community.” 

This marks a striking 3rd time in a row that a BEC-TV student has been honored with this exceptional award.

BEC-TV is part of Bloomington Schools, but funding for the entire operation comes from outside sources and funds they raise themselves. Students in grades 7–12 can participate at no charge. Over the years, BEC-TV has teamed with schools and students to produce and air over 30,000 different shows from Bloomington's schools.  Programming can be viewed via stream, cable, Apple TV, Roku, and on-demand. www.bectv.org