University of Central Missouri Digital Media Production Student Receives National Recognition for Work at KMOS PBS

Recognized nationally, University of Central Missouri student producer at KMOS-TV, Leilani Craig, a junior Digital Media Production major from Blue Springs, Missouri, was recently honored as the recipient of a Telly Award.

WARRENSBURG, MO – KMOS-TV, the PBS station licensed to the University of Central Missouri, recently received four Telly Awards honoring excellence in local television  programming. One of these awards was presented to KMOS student producer Leilani Craig who competed against established producers in professional categories with her production of “K-Pop Rising: Kansas City Arirang Festival 2022.”

“Once again, our students demonstrated that the experience they receive from their time at UCM is preparing them for a special future,” said Josh Tomlinson, director of broadcasting services and general manager of KMOS-TV. “I think it is tremendous that Leilani’s work is being recognized alongside such organizations as Comcast Creative Services and the Hollywood Critics Association.”

Leilani Craig is a junior from Blue Springs, Missouri, who is majoring in Digital Media Production at UCM. She is a member of the KMOS PBS student production team who, beyond making their own short documentaries and online studio programs, also assist the station’s full-time production team with all aspects of both field and studio production.

KMOS also received three Telly Awards for its flagship program, “Making,” for the segments featuring Assumption Abbey Fruitcakes in the Missouri Ozarks; Dale Hollow Winery in Stover, Missouri; and the Missouri Meerschaum Company in Washington, Missouri.

More About the Student Project Honored
“K-Pop Rising: Kansas City Arirang Festival 2022” was a Bronze Winner in the category Online General – Event. Produced by Leiliani Craig, a junior Digital Media Production major from Blue Springs, Missouri, this is a short documentary about the third annual Kansas City Arirang Festival an event which celebrates and showcases Korean pop music and dance.

More about the KMOS Projects Honored
“Dale Hollow Winery” was honored with a Silver Telly for General-Food and Beverage. Dale Hollow Winery and Vineyard is a family-owned-and-operated winery that began when two brothers and their wives decided to plant a few grapevines on the family land. Soon, the entire family got involved and now they annually produce award-winning vintages while welcoming wine lovers from across the region.

“Assumption Abbey Fruitcakes” was honored with a Silver Telly for General-Food and Beverage. Assumption Abbey is a community of monks of the Cistercian Order and not a commercial enterprise. It is a way of life, and that way of life, combined with the careful work of the bakers, ensures dedication to a high quality that makes Assumption Abbey Fruitcakes among this country’s finest.

“Missouri Meerschaum Pipe Company” was honored with a Silver Telly Award for General-Documentary: Short Form. The Missouri Meerschaum Company is the world’s oldest and largest manufacturer of cool, sweet-smoking corn cob pipes and the reason Washington, Missouri, has long been known as the “Corn Cob Pipe Capital of the World.”

About KMOS
KMOS is a PBS member television station licensed to the University of Central Missouri. Since 1979 KMOS has broadcast high-quality engaging, educational and entertaining programs to central Missouri. From one original channel broadcast 18 hours a day to four channels broadcast 24/7, KMOS is supported in the community through individual memberships and corporate support, by UCM as well as underlying support from all viewers.

About UCM
The University of Central Missouri transforms students into lifelong learners, dedicated to service, with the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed and lead in the region, state, nation and world. The university’s 150-acre main campus is located in Warrensburg, with our extended campus, UCM-Lee’s 
Summit, located at the Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit, Mo. UCM offers 150 programs of baccalaureate and master’s degree study with outstanding, experienced faculty, and opportunity for study around the world.

About the Telly Awards
The Telly Awards program was founded in 1979 to honor excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials, but added non-broadcast video and television programming soon after. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work created within television and across video, for all screens. Receiving over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents, Telly Award winners represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers from around the world.