When Robert Harris stepped into the BYU-Idaho Radio newsroom last spring, he wasn’t expecting to make BYU-Idaho history.
A senior studying video production, Harris usually spends his time producing and hosting the university’s Broadway-themed show, Showstoppers. But that day, he was filling in for the senior news producer—just covering a shift, doing what needed to be done. Months later, he’d learn that same newscast would be named Best Newscast in Idaho by the Idaho State Broadcasters Association (ISBA).
“I’m not a news person,” Harris laughed. “I just read what they told me to read and put it together. When Brother Isle told me we won, I thought he was joking. But it’s really a team win—the people who wrote those stories made it great.”
That sense of teamwork and surprise recognition ran through all four of BYU-Idaho Radio’s first-place wins at this year’s ISBA Awards Celebration in Boise. Competing against seasoned radio and television professionals, not just other universities, the BYU-Idaho Radio team brought home top honors for:
- Best Station Website – for the second consecutive year
- Best Newscast – May 8, 2025 edition produced by Robert Harris and featuring reporter Elyse Krout
- Best Multicultural Story – Christian Nelson, ’24 graduate, for a story on teaching English abroad
- Best News Story – Brandon Isle, Radio Station Coordinator, for an in-depth report on Idaho’s school bus drivers
“Real work for real people”
For Isle, who oversees BYU-Idaho Radio, the awards are about more than plaques on the wall. They’re evidence that students are doing professional-level work with a real audience.
“Our students aren’t competing against other students,” Isle said. “They’re competing against working broadcasters—people doing this for a living—and they’re still coming out on top. That’s remarkable.”
BYU-Idaho Radio reaches thousands of listeners across eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southern Montana. The station produces daily news updates, podcasts, music shows, and long-form features—all driven by student employees learning inside a real newsroom.
“I’m less worried about the awards and more about whether people are listening,” Isle said. “And they are. Community members recognize our students’ work—they say, ‘I read that article,’ or ‘I heard that story.’ That’s what matters most.”
Finding their voices
For Elyse Krout, the recognition was both shocking and affirming.
“This was my first semester at BYU-Idaho Radio,” Krout said. “I hadn’t even taken a communications class yet—I’m an animal science major! I didn’t expect any kind of award.”
Krout’s feature on the Alice in Wonderland ballet in Idaho Falls aired in the station’s award-winning newscast. Her background as a dancer helped her tell the story with insight and passion.
“It was one of my first stories, and I was just excited to talk with someone who founded a ballet school,” she said. “That personal connection helped. It made me realize I could do this.”
For her, the experience extended beyond journalism. “Working at the station helped me develop skills I’ll use in any career—networking, listening, asking good questions. It’s helped me see my potential.”
Stories that stay with you
Christian Nelson, a 2024 graduate now working in public relations, still remembers getting the text from Isle telling him he’d won Best Multicultural Story.
“I had to read it twice,” he said. “I’d been out of school for a year and didn’t expect anything like that.”
His winning story highlighted BYU-Idaho’s TESOL program—Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language—and how its students and professors were using innovative methods to reach learners across the world.
“I loved my time at the radio station,” Nelson said. “It taught me how to research, how to talk to people, and how to work in a fast-paced environment. Those are the same skills I use every day now in my job.”
More than microphones
Isle, who also won for Best News Story, says the station’s culture of curiosity and care sets it apart. His award-winning piece took listeners on a ride-along with a retired businessman-turned-school-bus-driver and offered a behind-the-scenes look at the people who keep Idaho’s children safe on their morning commutes.
“It’s easy to do quick phone interviews,” Isle said, “but when you sit beside someone and see what they see, you tell a different kind of story—one that feels alive.”
The station’s website, which also received top honors for the second straight year, showcases that blend of multimedia storytelling—articles paired with audio, podcasts, and photos—produced daily by student teams.
A station built for learning
In a field where deadlines are real and feedback can be immediate, BYU-Idaho Radio offers something rare: professional experience in a spiritually grounded environment.
“I love when students feel the joy of being recognized,” Isle said. “Sometimes they didn’t even know their work had been entered. Then they get that text—‘You just won an award.’ It helps them see that their education here, their time at BYU-Idaho Radio, really mattered.”
That combination of skill and spirit reflects BYU-Idaho’s mission to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities.
As Isle put it, “These awards show that our students are ready—not just for the industry, but to lift and serve wherever they go next.”