At its 2024 GABCON event on September 7th, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters honored its inaugural “Rising Stars” class – a distinguished group of up-and-coming broadcasters.
This award honors a rising station employee who demonstrates exceptional promise, ambition, and work ethic in the early stages of their broadcasting career. This individual consistently displays a strong drive to learn and excel, going above and beyond their daily responsibilities to ensure the station produces and airs content that exceeds viewer/listener expectations.
To be considered, individuals had to have less than five years of professional work experience. The inaugural class is:
Austin Eller- WSB-AM Haley Mason- CMG Athens Jamie Worsley- WALB-TV Jenna Petracci- WJBF-TV Jonathon Hoppe- WTVM-TV Josh Tanner- WCON Lydia Blackstone- WJCL-TV Sarah Smith- WSAV-TV Will Rioux- WRDW-TV.
The GAB’s annual convention, GABCON, provided Rising Star awardees the opportunity to attend educational sessions, including a panel discussion on the Future of Broadcasting. Led by Dr. Dale Van Canfort, Professor Emeritus of Piedmont College, the panel featured insightful perspectives from the award recipients.
The panel discussion provided a glimpse into the future of broadcasting. The panelists, rising stars in the industry, shared their experiences breaking into the competitive field and the trends they foresee shaping it. Their dialogue explored their challenges and triumphs, offering practical insights and advice for aspiring broadcasters. With their fresh perspectives, panelists engaged the audience in an insightful and inspiring conversation about the evolving landscape of the broadcasting industry.
