Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Terry Likes, head of Mississippi State’s Department of Communication, is the winner of the national 2024 Broadcast Historian Award from the Library of American Broadcasting’s Foundation, in conjunction with the Broadcast Education Association.

Established in 2015, LABF and BEA developed the annual award to recognize an educator who has produced a documentary or multimedia project specifically related to broadcast or media history. Likes received the $2,500 award for his audio production “Sharing a Laugh: The impact of popular culture on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” which was produced and aired on WMSV-FM, MSU’s radio station. Additionally, Likes won Best of Competition for the same production at the BEA Festival of Media Arts earlier this spring and was recognized by the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters for the documentary last year.

“Since my undergraduate days when I was a history minor, I have enjoyed producing long-form programs exploring the intersection of media and history. Having been in higher education for many years, I still consider myself a journalist at heart, which is why I continue to produce media content each year as part of my creative scholarship,” Likes said. “To be named the LABF Broadcast Historian is a great honor and tremendous external validation for my work, as the LABF is the preeminent national center for the preservation and dissemination of the history and tradition of broadcasting.”

His award-winning production showcases the often-combative relationship between the White House press corps and the U.S. president and how for a brief respite, the mood lightens at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It details the history and the popular culture impact, featuring audio from current and former White House correspondents as well as memorable moments from presidential speeches delivered at the event. The program is available at https://youtu.be/rXOI3P_7n4E.

For more details about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Communication, visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.comm.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.