WDIV-TV Local 4 is honored to be recognized as Station of the Year, for the third year in a row. The station won for broadcasting excellence in 15 categories from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters - 13 best and 10 merit awards for Market 1.

“We are absolutely overjoyed to be honored as Station of the Year, once again. It really is a reflection of how hard our entire team works throughout the year. All of our people are dedicated to doing the best they can to serve the community and I know our viewers appreciate that,” said vice-president and general manager Marla Drutz.

First Place/Best In Category

Breaking News: Local 4 News won top honors for its comprehensive team coverage of flooded freeways across Metro Detroit in September 2016
Investigative Story: Local 4 Defender Kevin Dietz’s story, “Death Sentence for Back Child Support,” about the death of Jennifer Meyers in a Macomb County jail after being arrested for back child support.
Newscast: Local 4 News at 5 p.m. – January 20, 2016
News Special: “Failure in Flint: Inside the Water Crisis” – live, hour-long special
News Reporter: Shawn Ley
Mini-Documentary or Series: “Help Me Hank: The School Project” - Hank Winchester’s year-long effort to transform Detroit’s Thurgood Marshall Elementary and Middle School
Weathercast: Chief Meteorologist Ben Bailey’s “Winter Storm” – December 16, 2016
Feature: “Redefining Perfection” - Reporter Nick Monacelli and photojournalist Matt Wilson’s story about a young boy’s affinity for baseball despite his rare birth defect
Special Interest Programming: “Failure in Flint: Inside the Water Crisis”
Photojournalist: John Pompeo
Marketing Materials & Promos: “Win at Watercooler”
Use of New Media: “Tragedy on the Trail” - ClickOnDetroit’s extensive coverage of April Millsap’s murder
Sports: “Opening Day”

Merit Awards

Breaking News: “In the Line of Fire/The Shooting of Officer Rose”
Investigative Story: “Secret Recordings: Who is the Man on the Tapes”
Newscast: Local 4 News at 11p.m. – November 22, 2016
New Special – “Surviving the Storm” Ben Bailey and the Local 4Casters’ special to help prepare the public for any type of weather
Weathercast – August 24, 2016 “Windsor Tornado”
Community Involvement: Special station events – “Flint Water Crisis: 4 Our Families” telethon - “Help Me Hank: The School Project” – “The Faces of Addiction” – “ The Gift of Warmth” telethon
News Reporter – Kimberly Gill
Marketing Materials & Promos: “Jason’s Bad Dream”
Sports: Bernie Smilovitz’s reports on “Sitting Down with Stafford”
Use of New Media: “Climate Change”- live, unscripted webcast

MAB’s Broadcast Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievement in broadcasting by Michigan radio and television stations each year