Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Mississippi Association of Broadcasters—the state’s premier organization dedicated to recognizing the highest standards of broadcast television production—has awarded Mississippi State Professor Terry Likes highest honors for his broadcasting skills during the group’s spring awards ceremony.

Likes, head of MSU’s Department of Communication, won first place in the “documentary” category for his report, “Where politicians and media laugh: a retrospective of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” This report also earned Likes third place in the “use of sound” category.

Likes also won first place “feature story,” for his report, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash: His concert and arrest in Starkville impact the legacy for both the singer and the community.”

Both reports aired on WMSV-FM, MSU’s radio station.

“When I left full-time media work years ago to move into higher education, I vowed to continue to tell meaningful stories,” Likes said. “My aim is to keep my reporting skills sharp, have current teaching materials for classes, and be able to show students their professor ‘practices what he preaches.’”

Likes has won more than 100 awards in a radio/tv career that has spanned more than 30 years of full-time and freelance work. The Saint Louis native has been an MSU faculty member since 2019 and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree from Western Kentucky University, and a bachelor’s degree from Maryville University-St. Louis.

Part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Communication is online at www.comm.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.