KBIA was honored with two first place awards from the national Public Radio News Directors, Inc. competition at an awards banquet in St. Louis on Saturday. The awards honor the best work in public radio across the country. KBIA competed against other stations in the “medium size station” category.
KBIA took first place in the “Breaking News” category for its team coverage of the protests and resignations on the University of Missouri campus in November 2015. The judges of the contest said, “KBIA's commitment to covering every element of this important, fast-breaking story is evident. From live coverage of Tim Wolfe's resignation, to the celebrations that followed to an analysis of what happens next, KBIA puts on a Breaking News Clinic by reacting to the story with professionalism, insight and context.”
KBIA also took first place in the “News/ Public Affairs Program” category for its half hour episode of Intersection that aired the same day as the resignations on campus in November. Host Sara Shahriari and many of KBIA’s professional and student reporters provided listeners with voices from across the campus to provide in-depth context about the issues on campus at a time when other media was focused on reporting just basic facts. The judges said, “KBIA hustled to get its listeners a range of insights and perspectives on this breaking new event, probably the biggest story of the year for the Mizzou community. An impressive effort and strong showing.”
This is the latest of many awards KBIA won for its coverage of these events in November. KBIA also picked up national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists at a banquet Friday night in Washington D.C. That award was announced back in April. KBIA also won a regional Edward R. Murrow award for “Continuing Coverage” for its reporting on this topic.
And it’s just the latest in a year where KBIA has been one of the most highly-awarded public radio stations in the country. Here is a list of the awards so far this year, with other competitions still yet to announce winners:
· 1 national Edward R. Murrow Award
· 5 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards
· 2 national Sigma Delta Chi Awards
· 2 national first place PRNDI awards
· 4 first place and 1 honorable mention awards from the Missouri Broadcasters Association
· 3 first place and 3 finalists in the Mark of Excellence Awards