Butler native wins student Emmy award
Butler native Josh Croup, a senior broadcast major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, won a 2017 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Sept. 9.
Croup, the son of Bill and Debbie Croup and a 2014 graduate of Butler High School, won in the category of College/University Student Production — Talent.
Croup, who picked up the award at Hershey Lodge in Hershey, for the college division of the Mid-Atlantic Emmys which included Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, said, “I submitted a compilation reel. It contained a combination of news stories, interviews, play-by-plays of basketball and live stand-ups.”
Croup is the news/sports director for U-View, Point Park's student-run television station.
In January, he traveled with a group of Point Park journalism students to Washington, D.C., to cover the inauguration of President Trump.
His work in Washington was among the clips he submitted for Emmy consideration.
Andrew Conte, director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park, which serves a laboratory for media invention including radio and TV broadcasts, said, “We're very proud of the work Josh has done during his time at Point Park.
“We seek to provide our students with opportunities to have real world experiences. Josh has made the most of those opportunities to truly prepare himself for what we all believe will be a successful career in broadcasting, or whatever field he chooses to pursue.
“He's a great example for our other students about what hard work from day one can produce,” Conte said.
Gina Catanzarite, a nine-time Emmy winner and a part-time professor at Point Park, inspired Croup to enter in the on-air talent category, one of the most competitive categories under College/University Student Production.
“She thought I had a chance,” Croup said. “I tried to show off my versatility in the entry, which includes field reporting, anchoring, interviewing and sports play-by-play.”
Croup said, “I've had her for multiple classes. I would send her my stuff before I sent it off to the Emmys. She would give me feedback.”
Catanzarite has had Croup in four classes at Point Park beginning his freshmen year.
“It's been great to see him develop as a journalist over the years, but it was clear from day one that Josh not only had a natural aptitude but also a genuine passion for his career,” she said.
“We're fortunate to have him at Point Park, and the broadcast industry is fortunate to have such a talented journalist ready to enter its ranks.”
Croup said he believes he is the first Point Park student to win a mid-Atlantic Emmy.
“This is the biggest honor of my young career, and it's one that so many people deserve to share with me at Point Park University,” Croup said. “I was extremely grateful to be nominated and was honestly just happy to be in Hershey at the awards ceremony alongside my friends from U-View. I would not be there without them.”
He said, “It makes for a nice pat on the back, a nice picture and another thing to go on the resume.”
Croup who has been a public relations intern for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Penguins in his career at Point Park, as well as a freelance contributor to the NHL Network, said the Emmy ceremony gave him a chance to network with news directors and news reporters from across the three-state region.
Croup, who is on track to graduate in the spring, said, “I would love to become a news reporter somewhere or a sports reporter or do p.r. in the sports field.”
