Elon alumni reel in Midsouth Emmy Award nominations

Joe Bruno ’14, Brandon Marshall ’12, Sophie Nielsen-Kolding ’12, Nick Ochsner '11 and Christine Williams '14 will be among the honorees recognized at the 33rd Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards ceremony in February.

In collaboration with their broadcast news and multimedia colleagues, five Elon University graduates recently earned 14 Midsouth Regional Emmy Award nominations. The awards are presented by the Nashville/Midsouth chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, recognizing outstanding work in North Carolina, Tennessee and the television market of Huntsville, Alabama.

Brandon Marshall ’12, a multimedia journalist for WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, holds up his three Midsouth Emmy Award nominations. Photo courtesy of Brandon Marshall’s Twitter account, @NC5_BMarshall
The nominations were announced by the Nashville/Midsouth chapter on Nov. 15, and award winners will be announced at the 33rd Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards Gala on Feb. 16.

Sophie Nielsen-Kolding ’12, a reporter for WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, and her colleagues were nominated in five categories, including Newscast/Morning, Breaking News, General Assignment – Within 24 Hours, Continuing Coverage – Within 24 Hours and Interactivity. Two of the nominations focused on news coverage of the April 2018 mass shooting that occurred at a Tennessee Waffle House. The event made national headlines as a restaurant customer, James Shaw Jr., wrestled the shooter’s weapon away during the spree.

Brandon Marshall ’12, a multimedia journalist for WTVF NewsChannel 5, was also part of the Nashville station’s nominations in the Breaking News, Continuing Coverage – Within 24 Hours and General Assignment – No Time Limit categories. Marshall’s reporting highlighted the Waffle House shooting as well as a September 2017 shooting at a church in Antioch, Tennessee.  

WBTV investigative reporter Nick Ochsner ’11 and his colleagues earned three nominations spanning the General Assignment – No Time Limit, Investigative Report and Investigative Series categories. His Investigative Series piece is titled “NC’s Deadly Prisons” and examines the dangerous working conditions in state correctional facilities. Additionally, Ochsner’s investigative reporting was recently honored at the 2018 RTDNAC/AP Awards luncheon.

In collaboration with his WSOC-TV colleagues, investigative reporter Joe Bruno ’14 earned two Emmy nominations. Bruno and the Charlotte news outlet were honored in the Newscast/Evening and Community Service categories.

​Finally, Christine Williams ’14, a producer of CanesVision, the Carolina Hurricanes’ in-arena entertainment service, received a nomination in the Sports Feature category. Williams and her colleague Zac Miklusak produced “A Bed for Kason,” an eight-minute video chronicling a young hockey fan and his relatives following a family tragedy.

Following the video’s release in June, Williams tweeted, “This is one of the most rewarding pieces I have had the privilege to work on.”