Public Media Claims 36 National Murrow Awards

Public radio has claimed nearly a third of the National Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding journalism, announced Tuesday by the Radio Television Digital News Association.  The winning coverage included reports on the recovery of a community devastated by wildfires to an investigative report of miners exposed to coal dust.

In all, public media organizations claimed 36 awards. North State Public Radio’s “After Paradise,” a daily show for northern California residents recovering from the Camp Fire, won in the category of continuing coverage. “Coal’s Deadly Dust,” an NPR/FRONTLINE report on regulators’ failure to recognize and respond to clear signs of danger for miners, received the award for investigative reporting.

NPR won four awards, and Marfa Public Radio and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting each won three. The Mountain West News Bureau, a CPB-supported journalism collaboration, won one. And Vermont Public Radio received the National Murrow for Overall Excellence among small market radio stations.

“Public media journalism is expanding its reach and impact locally and nationally. These awards affirm the commitment public media newsrooms have to journalistic excellence and to covering stories that matter to our communities,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB senior vice president, journalism and radio. “Congratulations to all the winners.”

The awards will be presented at an October 14 gala in New York City.

Public media winners: 

Small Market Radio

• Overall Excellence: Vermont Public Radio, Colchester, Vermont
• Continuing Coverage: After Paradise, North State Public Radio, Chico, California
• Excellence in Innovation: KUNR's Spanish/English Bilingual Content, KUNR-FM and Noticiero Móvil, Reno, Nevada
• Excellence in Social Media: Marfa Public Radio, Marfa, Texas
• Excellence in Sound: Scientists Race To Research Stonefly Species Threatened By Climate Change, Wyoming Public Radio, Laramie, Wyoming
• Excellence in Video: The Rockpile: Mount Washington Weather Observatory, Maine Public Radio, Lewiston, Maine
• Excellence in Writing: Brian Bull, KLCC-FM, Eugene, Oregon
• Feature Reporting: Without Hospice, Who Gets To Die In The Big Bend?, Marfa Public Radio, Marfa, Texas
• Hard News: Victims of Car Attack Prepare to Testify, WVTF-FM and RadioIQ, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Investigative Reporting: Landlord Refuses Muslim Restaurant Owners, KUNC-FM, Greeley, Colorado
• Multimedia: Marfa Public Radio, Marfa, Texas
• News Documentary: For Many Black Texans, Grand Saline Embodies Racism. So Is That Fair?, KETR-FM, Commerce, Texas
• News Series: Threshold Season Two: Cold Comfort, Montana Public Radio, Missoula, Montana
• Sports Reporting: Overcoming Adversity Through Archery, WUFT-FM, Gainesville, Florida

Large Market Radio

• Continuing Coverage: Arizona Teacher Strike, KJZZ-FM, Tempe, Arizona
• Excellence in Social Media: The Hustle: A Snapshot of Artists' Money in the Bay Area, KQED-FM, San Francisco, California
• Excellence in Sound: Mornings in Michigan: The Early Birder Gets the Warblers, Chickadees, and Orioles, Michigan Radio, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Excellence in Writing: Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio, Nashville, Tennessee
• Feature Reporting: Evicted And Homeless, This 14-Year-Old Describes Every Day as "a Fight," Mountain West News Bureau, Greeley, Colorado
• Hard News: Why Do We Keep Building Homes in Places That Burned Down?, KPCC/ LAist, Los Angeles, California
• Investigative Reporting: The Business of Illicit Massage, WGBH-FM and New England Center For Investigative Reporting, Boston, Massachusetts
• Multimedia: Legal Developments in SFPD Shooting of Mario Woods, KQED-FM, San Francisco, California
• News Documentary: Texas Matters: A Grim Look At Sex Trafficking, Texas Public Radio, San Antonio, Texas
• News Series: The Past, Present and Future of Abortion Rights in Pennsylvania, WESA-FM, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Sports Reporting: Cleveland Softball Gets a Financial "Assist" From the Chinese, ideastream, Cleveland, Ohio

Radio Network

• Continuing Coverage: Asylum Crackdown, NPR
• Excellence in Social Media: Kept Out, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
• Excellence in Sound: Silicon Valley Diversity Choir, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
• Excellence in Writing: Wildfires Razed Calif. Neighborhoods But What About Untouched Homes?, NPR
• Feature Reporting: Fleeing Deportation, a Woman Takes Sanctuary in a Church, WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
• Hard News: Why The Abortion Rate In Pakistan Is One Of The World's Highest, NPR
• Investigative Reporting: Coal's Deadly Dust, NPR and PBS FRONTLINE
• Multimedia: In The Dark Season 2, American Public Media
• News Series: Serial Season Three, Serial Podcast

Small Market Television

• Feature Reporting: Where Dreams Die, Arizona Public Media, Tucson, AZ

Television Network

• Feature Reporting: The Office of Missing Children, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting