In the first year of producing its groundbreaking monthly news show, “Energycast Oak Ridge,” the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) took home a national award recognizing excellence in storytelling and public outreach.
Office of Environmental Management
June 13, 2023
minute read time
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – In the first year of producing its groundbreaking monthly news show, “Energycast Oak Ridge,” the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) took home a national award recognizing excellence in storytelling and public outreach.
Watch the latest episode here.
“We’ve been really pleased with the interest and response to this newscast, and our team is actively working on some exciting ideas to continue strengthening the show as we kick off its second year,” said Ben Williams, OREM public affairs specialist.
OREM’s communications team won a 2023 Hometown Media Award in the government activities independent producer category. The awards were established to honor and promote community media, community radio and local cable programs distributed on public, educational and governmental access cable television channels.
This year’s winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony on June 28 in New York City.
“Energycast Oak Ridge” premiered on May 22, 2022, with the goal of showcasing the full scope and local impact of the cleanup mission in a new way — a news show. It airs on community television channels in 24 counties across eastern and middle Tennessee, including some of the state’s largest cities, Nashville and Knoxville.
The newscast includes OREM project updates from the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and East Tennessee Technology Park. It also highlights employee successes, personal stories, workforce development initiatives, budget breakdowns, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events, as well as partnerships and major economic developments happening in the community made possible by OREM’s work.
“Energycast Oak Ridge” is OREM’s latest effort to expand outreach aimed at educating employees, stakeholders and area residents about the work happening across the site. In addition to appearing on local television channels, new episodes are also shared directly with the federal and contractor workforce, regulators, local advisory boards, business leaders, and local, state, and federal officials.
“We've put a lot of hard work into this show, so it’s rewarding to see the community’s increased awareness of our workforce and our projects benefitting the region,” said Williams. “A personal highlight is getting messages from employees and co-workers that they’re sharing these meaningful stories with their friends and family.”
New episodes air on the third Sunday of each month in the Oak Ridge area, and they are posted to OREM’s YouTube channel the following Monday. In the Nashville area, episodes air on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Anyone interested in subscribing to monthly emails with new episodes can send a request to [email protected].
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