The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    ‘Twin Spans Rebuilt’ wins Emmy

    Alumna Brittany Robinson headshot

    Brittany Robinson has continued the four year streak as a student from The Southeastern Channel to win an Emmy for her feature story “Twin Spans Rebuilt.”  The award was given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
    The Lion's Roar/Alex Brainard

    This is the fourth year in a row a student from The Southeastern Channel has won an Emmy. 

    Alumna Brittany Robinson graduated in May with a degree in communication and a minor in theatre while working for The Southeastern Channel. She recently won the Emmy award in the writing category presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her feature story “Twin Spans Rebuilt.”

    “It felt impressive,” said Robinson. “It was kind of like this accomplishment I never thought I would get. You see Emmys being given out all the time on television and you never really think, ‘Oh I can win one of those.’ So now to actually have one, it’s humbling. But at the same time, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I worked hard. I deserved that.’”

    Robinson was assigned to do a hard news feature story for a class assignment a decade after Hurricane Katrina. Robinson worked at WDSU who covered on the people who stayed in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. 

    “I thought it would be great to do a story 10 years later on what happened to the Twin Spans because much of the damage on Northshore was because of the Twin Spans,” said Robinson. “I took it from there. I looked at my research and I noticed that my coworker, Fletcher Mackel, actually reported from the Twin Spans. So I was like, ‘I have a story here, this is a first-hand account. There’s no other way to go with this story.’”

    According to Robinson, she had to put herself in the mindset of a native of New Orleans and thought about what story she would want to hear 10 years later.

    “I feel like people still kind of look at New Orleans from that time with pity but that’s not what we’re dealing with,” said Robinson. “We’re the comeback kids. I wanted to look at it as a metaphor. All this bad stuff happened but ultimately we’re better than ever and this is how we are. I used the bridge as that metaphor.”

    Robinson never expected to be doing news when she first attended the university. Originally, Robinson planned on being a film director, but that changed once she entered her core classes. They were not geared towards film, but news.

    “I fell in love with it,” said Robinson. “I went from one path to the other. I enjoy telling people stories and that’s how it happened.”

    Robinson wants to use her passion in the media industry to entertain viewers such as talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

    “I like hearing people’s stories,” said Robinson. “People’s stories are amazing. I like to entertain people, whether that’s through television or movies. I want to do it all.”

    Robinson believed the university helped her define what she wanted to do and certain professors helped her on her future career path.

    “My time at Southeastern was amazing,” said Robinson. “It had its ups and downs but it was eye opening. Mrs. Settoon’s program, the broadcasting genre, really prepares you for what it’s like in a newsroom, what it’s actually like in a film set. They give you the fundamental tools to go out there and know what you’re doing. That looks good for Southeastern. You’re guaranteed a job. If you go in with the right mindset, you’re going to come out of Southeastern with a job.”

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