Reporters from KCUR and across the collaborative Kansas News Service received numerous awards in the 2021 Station Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting, conducted annually by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
Recognitions include:
- Aviva Okeson-Haberman, Luke Martin, Frank Morris, Peggy Lowe and Maria Carter (KCUR FM, Kansas City): First place in hard news feature/enterprise for large market radio for the news series, “KC Remembers”
- Luke Martin, race and culture reporter (KCUR): Second place in spot news for large market radio for George Floyd’s Murder Opened Eyes Around Kansas City, But Racial Equity Still Seems Distant
- Abigail Censky, KNS politics and government reporter (KCUR): Honorable mention in the spot news category for large market radio for A Kansas School Board Used YouTube For Meetings, Until Someone Dished Up Bad Science
- Jim McLean, KNS political correspondent (KCUR): Second place in hard news feature/enterprise category for large market radio for A Pandemic, Exhaustion And Threats: Why Dozens Of Kansas Public Health Officials Are Quitting
- David Condos, KNS reporter (High Plains Public Radio, Garden City):
- Second place in hard news feature/enterprise category in medium market radio for Farmers Trying To Save The Ogallala Aquifer Face Tension From Peers, But Their Profits Are Improving
- Honorable mention in news feature category in medium market radio for Latino Leaders In Southwestern Kansas Fight To Overcome Myths And Hesitancy About COVID-19 Vaccine
- Brian Grimmett, KNS reporter (KMUW FM, Wichita):
- Second place in the complete severe weather coverage category for large market radio for Rolling Blackouts Hit Kansas As Arctic Temperatures Drive Up Power Demand Across The Midwest
- Honorable mention in the complete severe weather coverage category for large market radio for Kansas Customers Left To Pay The Price After Winter Storm Sends Natural Gas Prices Soaring
- Stephen Koranda, KNS news editor for his reporting while at Kansas Public Radio, Lawrence: first place in the spot news category for medium market radio for Tents, Police Radios and a Grocery Store: the Ways Kansas is Using $1 Billion in COVID-19 Aid
Additionally, KCUR and Kansas News Service partner stations received:
- 2021 KAB Stations of the Year: KMUW, Wichita for Large Market Radio and Kansas Public Radio, Lawrence for Medium Market Radio
- Station Website: KCUR won first place, and KMUW, Wichita won second place in Large Market Radio. Kansas Public Radio won first place in Medium Market Radio.
The annual Station Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting competition is sponsored by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. Awards were provided for work produced between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Awardees will be recognized at the KAB Convention starting Oct. 3 in Wichita. A complete list of awardees can be found here.
About the Kansas News Service
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of public media newsrooms delivering critical reporting of sound and substance. The nonprofit service is directed by KCUR 89.3 in Kansas City in partnership with KMUW (Wichita), Kansas Public Radio (KANU, Lawrence) and High Plains Public Radio (KANZ, Garden City). It is made possible with support from the Kansas Health Foundation, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Sunflower Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Forward Foundation. Additional support comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Learn more at ksnewsservice.org.
