Missouri State University’s Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film (CMJF) received several top honors from the 2026 Broadcasting Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts awards.
Winners were selected from a pool of 2,250 entries, representing over 300 colleges and universities, according to a Feb. 17 BEA press release. Categories included audio, documentary, film and video, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting and sports.
Faculty member Nathan Patton wins second year in a row
CMJF Assistant Professor Nathan Patton won Best of Festival and Best of Competition for his original television series pilot, “All These Lonesome Graveyards.”
“I’m sincerely honored to have one of my screenplays named Best of Competition and Best of Festival for the second year in a row,” Patton said. “I deeply appreciate the BEA for the recognition and more broadly for being a place that media faculty and, even more importantly, students can share their work.”
In 2025, Patton’s “L.O.T.U.S.” won BEA’s Best of Festival for original television series pilot, while “Orientation” won Best of Competition for feature narrative.
Student screenwriter Cooper Johnson nabs top award
Cooper Johnson’s “Bandit” won “Best of Festival” in the student scripting competition. “Bandit” also placed first in the original television pilot series category. Missouri State went on to sweep the top awards in that same category. Arden Dickson placed second for “Go Figure,” and Evalee Lowrey placed third for “Freaks.”
According to its press release, BEA awarded 19 faculty and student works for its “Best of Festival” Award honor. Both Patton and Johnson are among that elite group, and they will be honored at BEA’s 24th annual ceremony in Las Vegas on April 19. They will have their works screened during the event and will receive a cash award of $1,000 from the Diana King Memorial Endowment.
Habert and Upp place in multiple categories
Meanwhile, Emma Habert placed in two different categories. “This is Gonna Tickle” won third place in scriptwriting, and “The Will of the Mare” earned an Award of Excellence in the film and video category.
In addition, Tristan Upp earned honors in three different categories. Upp placed third individually in the narrative feature category for “Over Our Heads.” Along with Kim DeBold, Upp tied for second place for sound engineering and production with “Dawg Pound.” Finally, in collaboration with Caelan Baker, Brooks Beattie and Matthew Mulac, Upp garnered an award of excellence in multimedia sound design for “The Dog Salesman.”
CMJF continues winning legacy
CMJF department head Dr. Deborah Larson praised the group for their achievements, noting that Missouri State will maintain its position as the most highly awarded screenwriting program in the country for the sixth year in a row.
“Congratulations on your accomplishments and the quality of work that you do,” she said. “Winning 12 screenwriting awards and four production awards makes a statement that maintains a visibility nationwide of excellence in our programs. CMJF and MO State are proud of you.”