KCUR has been awarded six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this year, the most ever received by the station for its journalistic efforts.
The station was also involved with two additional awards through collaborations with KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. The prestigious awards, announced Wednesday, come from the Radio Television Digital News Association, which has honored exceptional works of journalism since 1971.
KCUR's General Manager Nico Leone says the honor of RTDNA's awards reflects KCUR's core journalistic values.
"Like Edward R. Murrow himself, KCUR and its partners are dedicated to reporting the facts," Leone says. "These awards show that our drive toward that goal is important and has an impact not just in Kansas City or the Midwest, but beyond."
KCUR and its collaborative partners received the awards for a wide variety of journalistic endeavors, from this story about a Kansas museum dedicated to showcasing daredevil Evel Knievel, to KCUR's series on gun violence, The Argument. We even scooped up an award for our website where you're reading this right now.
In addition to those awards, KBIA and Harvest Public Media received recognition for Excellence in Video for this explanation of how pesticides are used in agriculture. And the Kansas News Service received an award for Hard News for this story from Celia Llopis-Jepsen about how Kansas school funding is used to increase teacher salaries.
KCUR's News Director Maria Carter says the awards illustrate the mission of KCUR in Kansas City and the Midwest.
"These awards show not only KCUR's commitment to telling the story of the Kansas City region, but our commitment to telling that story in a compelling way using in-depth reporting," Carter says.
Below is a list of all the awards received by KCUR and its collaborative partners. The awards now advance to the National Murrow Award competition for consideration.
KCUR:
- Excellence in Writing — Frank Morris, A New Kansas Museum Dares To Showcase Daredevil Evel Knievel
- News Documentary — Alex Smith, For Deaf Refugees, Learning Sign Language Is A Challenge With Life-Changing Rewards
- News Series — Andrea Tudhope, Peggy Lowe, The Argument
- Sports Reporting — Greg Echlin, The Roots Of Marcus Peters' Anger
- Website — Cody Newill, kcur.org.
Kansas News Service:
- Hard News — Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Some Kansas School Districts Use Funding Influx To Boost Teacher Salaries
KBIA:
- Investigative Reporting — Bram Sable-Smith, Dan Margolies, Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Face Tough Decisions On Profitable But Questionable Billing Schemes
KBIA & Harvest Public Media:
- Excellence in Video — Watch: What Are Pesticides And How Are They Used?
Cody Newill is an audience development specialist for KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter @CodyNewill.
