Corey Knollinger, a 2019 graduate of West Liberty University, recently won two awards in filmmaking. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in both broadcasting and digital media design. While at West Liberty, he worked for both WLU-TV and WGLZ, the student-run radio station on campus. Knollinger currently resides in Chattanooga, Tenn. but formerly resided in Wheeling, W.Va.

“I’d say the two most important classes for me in college were Chris Lee’s documentary film class and Jared Thompson’s documentary production class. I used skills from those classes every day in the production of “Rosemary,” Knollinger said.

He won the awards in the Topical Documentary and the Innovation in Education categories during the 53rd Annual Public Media Awards for the documentary film “Rosemary.” The awards were sponsored by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. The winners were announced during the 53rd Annual Media Awards Gala, which was held virtually on Jan. 26, 2022.

The award he won for Topical Documentary is based on the work he did as an employee at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The documentary film was created while he was working for the Greater Chattanooga Public Corporation, located in Chattanooga, Tenn. Knollinger shares this award with fellow producer Chuck Kleine.

The award he won in the Innovation in Education category honored Knollinger’s work as a producer for creating 100 hours of content for the educational channel called “Raise Your Hand.” The channel started in the midst of the pandemic to help students from slipping through the cracks. It also provided them with a collaborative creative space that addressed any digital education needs they had.

Knollinger said in regards to winning the awards, “I literally jumped off my couch. It’s crazy. I’ve always been a huge public media fan, so to be able to earn one of the highest honors in public media at only 25 and earning 2 in one night was insane and I’ll never forget it.”

The award-winning documentary is entitled “Rosemary” and covers Rosemary Ketchum’s 2020 campaign trail of when she ran for Wheeling City Council in the 3rd district of Wheeling, W.Va. District 3 includes the neighborhoods of Elm Grove, Mozart, Bethlehem and parts of South Wheeling.

When Rosemary Ketchum was elected to serve on Wheeling City Council, she made history by becoming West Virginia’s first transgender elected official. An article published by NBC News stated, “There are less than 30 transgender elected officials in the U.S. Rosemary Ketchum of Wheeling, W.Va. is one of them.”

Ketchum said, “Being a member of the Wheeling City Council has been an incredible experience. We work every day to develop policies and deliver services that support and empower our community members. As I enter my second year, I am excited to continue working on issues related to homelessness, affordable housing, small business and arts and culture.”

Ketchum also shared her thoughts on the film, “I was honored to be considered for the documentary. Working with Corey and Chuck was an amazing experience. They are true professionals and made the process of being on camera comfortable and enjoyable! Obviously, none of us knew how the campaign would turn out, but I was grateful that our win was captured in the film.”

Ketchum said in response to the film winning awards, “I was so proud to see Corey and Chuck’s work acknowledged in such a powerful way. While the early days of the pandemic made their work very difficult, they pushed on and created something that wonderfully illustrates their amazing ability to record history through storytelling.”

If you’re interested in watching the award-winning documentary “Rosemary,” it is available to watch on the West Virginia Public Broadcasting website.