Northern Arizona University’s public radio station, KNAU, and three of its reporters have earned regional Edward R. Murrow awards from the Radio and Television News Directors Association, beating out entries from stations in similar-size markets in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
In all, KNAU received five regional Murrows for excellence in broadcast journalism:
- Best Hard News Feature: Theresa Bierer, “Doctor Shortage“
- Best Feature Reporting: Gillian Ferris Kohl, “Civil War Band“
- Best Writing: Laurel Morales, Polygamy, Border Farms, The Power of a Name
- Best Continuing Coverage: The Brins Fire
- Best News Documentary: “Edge of the Rez“
John Stark, general manager of KNAU, called the awards “evidence of the quality journalism practiced by our reporters.” He added, “They are very adept at telling compelling stories that are significant to the community. Remarkably, the quality of our reports produced in Flagstaff matches NPR’s.”
The association received 3,150 regional entries. Judges gave 587 awards to 280 stations in 14 categories, including overall excellence, spot news, continuing coverage and investigative reporting, among others. Radio and television news managers from markets across the country judged the entries earlier this month.
Regional winners automatically become eligible for the national awards competition, which will be judged in early June.