Graham Media Group Stations Awarded Five 2023 Regional Murrow Awards

The Edward R. Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious, sought-after awards in broadcast and digital news. The Murrow Awards recognizes local and national news stories that demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community. Graham Media Group stations WDIV-Detroit, WKMG-Orlando, WJXT-Jacksonville, and WSLS-Roanoke were all honored with a national 2023 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.     

WDIV-Detroit is the recipient of two coveted Murrow Awards for Breaking News and Excellence in Writing. WDIV was awarded for their Breaking News coverage of Detroit firefighters trapped while battling a fire. And anchor Devin Scillian won Excellence in Writing for his story about a local woman who nearly lost her home. “The Murrow Award is a remarkable honor and one of the highest in broadcast journalism,” said Vice-President and General Manager Bob Ellis. “To see our commitment to serving Southeast Michigan rewarded with this honor is a testament to the hard work our news department does each and every day.”

Breaking News

For coverage of the Detroit firefighters trapped while battling a house fire on Detroit’s East Side. Local 4 anchors and reporters were on the air throughout the afternoon and into the evening newscasts and there was aerial coverage, as well as cameras on the ground at the scene as the rescue unfolded.

Excellence in Writing

Local 4 anchor Devin Scillian won for his story on June Walker, the woman who nearly lost her home because of a fake landlord – but the generosity of one man helped her reclaim the house she worked so hard to own. This is the second time the station has won this award.

WKMG-Orlando won a Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation, highlighting the News 6+ Takeover programming block to change how the audience views local news. In November 2022, WKMG revamped its afternoon lineup by taking over its regular scheduled 5:30 pm newscast with new programming. This new programming included News 6 locally produced podcasts and longer format journalistic shows hosted by their news anchors and reporters. “We are using our broadcast to be a billboard for our digital assets,” said Jeff Hoffman, WKMG’s General Manager. “We are a multiplatform content provider, and we want our community to know they have options for local news, information, and new content on any of our News 6 platforms.” 

WSLS-Roanoke anchor and reporter Jenna Zibton, and Photojournalist Jeff Perzan won the Murrow Award for their Solutionaries series and continuing commitment to solutions journalism. The award submission includes several stories from WSLS in 2022, including how Danville, VA drastically cut crime and murder after having the most homicides per capita in Virginia. In addition to this, WSLS also discussed how local communities are fighting inflation. WSLS talked to a cattle farmer in Bedford County about how he is cutting costs so you do not pay more for meat and how urban gardening is taking off. WSLS also highlighted how a local nonprofit delivers milk to keep their neighbors fed during trying times. The “Moo Crew” raises the money and then picks up and delivers milk in Franklin County. WSLS highlights the creative people in Virginia communities working to make the world a better place, one solution at a time. 

WJXT-Jacksonville was awarded a Murrow Award for News4JAX anchor Mary Baer’s feature story “Child Unsafe,” exposing the life-threatening dangers of children ingesting commonly used lithium batteries. Jodi Mohrmann, Chris O’Rourke, and former colleagues Joe Drumm and Dylan Smith made up the team that produced this award-winning story. “It is unrelenting dedication that earned News4JAX this wonderful recognition. The WJXT team works hard every day to help keep local families safe. I am so proud their hard work is being honored,” said Vice President and General Manager, Terri Cope Walton. 

The Edward R. Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to broadcast and digital journalism excellence. 

For links and a complete list of winners, click or tap here.  

WDIV wins prestigious 2022 Regional Murrow Award

WDIV-Local 4 is honored to receive the coveted 2022 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast (Local 4 News at 11 p.m.) for coverage of the Oxford High School shooting.

Regional winners were announced Wednesday by the Radio Television Digital News Association.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named Best Newscast in the Regional Murrow Awards,” News Director Kim Voet said. “This is a true team win on one of the most difficult and tragic days our community has faced. I’m incredibly proud of our Local 4 newsroom and the quality and compassion we displayed in our coverage.”

“This day, we were confronted with a tragedy that every newsroom hopes they never have to cover,” Vice President and General Manager Bob Ellis said. “And when it happened, our team did what they do best. We were informative, measured, we asked important questions, and we were compassionate. We also made decisions not to show video or cover private moments, for which I’m extremely proud, as well. While I’m grateful this work has been recognized, it’s more important to again recognize the people of Oxford. They have demonstrated what the term 'community' truly means.”

The RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name.

This honor comes after receiving another distinguished tribute in March -- the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Station of the Year Award – which WDIV-Local 4 won for the eighth year in a row.

WDIV named ‘Station of the Year’ by Michigan Association of Broadcasters for 8th year in a row

WDIV-TV Local 4, a Graham Media Group station, is honored to be named the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ Station of the Year for the eighth year in a row.

The station won for broadcasting excellence in 16 categories from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters - 10 best and 9 merit awards for Market 1.

“Every employee at WDIV shares a piece of this tremendous honor,” Vice President and General Manager Bob Ellis said. “Every person here works together to serve our community, and that’s what makes this so gratifying.”

BEST AWARDS

Breaking News Story: Flooding Catastrophe

Feature/Use of Medium: I Have No Regrets

Investigative Story: Morgue Mistakes

Mini-Documentary or Series: Detroit’s Babygirl

News Reporter: Nick Monacelli

News Special: Secrets of Small Town

Photojournalist: Alex Atwell

Special Interest Programming: Summer Spectacular

Sports: Local 4 Sports Opening Day

Weathercast: Tracking Snow Threat

MERIT AWARDS

Breaking News: Tornadoes Touch Down

Community Involvement: WDIV Community Involvement

Continuing Coverage: Oxford Tragedy Continuing Coverage

Feature/Use of Medium: Finding a Fossil

Marketing Materials & Promos: We Are Stronger

News Anchor: Devin Scillian

Newscast: Local 4 News at 11

Photojournalist: Mike Tiseo

Use of New Media (Single Project): WDIV Vaccine Hunter

The Broadcast Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievement in broadcasting by Michigan radio and television stations each year. The awards were announced online by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

Graham Media Group wins 2 Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards

This year's Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards are in -- and Graham Media Group won two of them, as was announced earlier this week in a virtual ceremony.

This year’s EPPY Awards received more than 450 entries. Winners were selected from an international list of nominations to honor the best digital media websites across 38 diverse categories, in addition to categories for excellence in college and university journalism.

When it came to best local TV news website with 1 million unique monthly visitors and more – the winner was: WSLS.com

And in the category of best redesign/relaunch with 1 million unique monthly visitors and more – the winner was: ClickOnDetroit.com.

In a way, this was a win for all Graham Media Sites, considering they share a design.

Check out the winners and runners-up on this list to see the best of the best in digital media.

More on the best redesign award for ClickOnDetroit, from GMG audience development lead Dustin Block:

"Our websites have been growing a loyal fanbase for some time, so as website technology and our CMS has improved, the goal was to improve the website without making it feel new and different. We are quite proud of the relaunch and the new sites has been well-received by the community from day one, and continuing through the coronavirus crisis, our users have been able to find their reporters and content that they trust. We did this in the relaunch of the websites by focusing on these important elements:

Improved video: We focused on the mobile experience first, looking to convey the visual storytelling of our reporters without making the site feel sluggish. The video experience of the television station is an element that separates our reporting, so we improved it, offering live previews on the homepage of videos, and scrubbing to mimic the best of the big players. We improved our recommendation engine. This effort more than doubled the number of videos played between January 2019 and January 2020, pre-pandemic.

Improved engagement: We aimed to improve the legibility of the website and allow for easier and more consistent engagement. By improving successful login attempts by mor than 200%, and promoting more reporter and producer involvement in comments, we have increased the quality of commenting on our websites. We have also had consistent growth in our newsletters and are quickly able to build new newsletters and verticals as content topics take off.

Reduced site load: The trade-offs of a rich-video and visual website is generally page load and performance. The team knew this going into the project, but focused on new technologies and techniques to improve the page load and interactivity of the website for mobile and desktop. We believe that improvement of page load has been a major factor for the increase in Google Organic Search traffic we have seen.

Improved advertiser performance: We increased viewability of all ads to >65% while improving page load; meanwhile, continuing to provide valuable first party and remnant inventory, increasing the revenue we can use to support our journalism.

The new site has done more than just provide a new visual, but has been the backbone of a community movement we have been working toward from our television station."

And as for best local TV website, WSLS.com:

"WSLS in Roanoke, Virginia, builds its outsized success on teamwork. The digital team, which recently grew to four full-time employees, worked closely with the broadcast newsroom over the past year to move from a distant second in market to the most-read news hub in southwestern Virginia.

Data-driven reporting throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is an important example of how digital and broadcast teamed up to serve their audiences. The digital team closely tracked and reported public health data that became the backbone of coverage online and on-air. Their commitment to data reporting helped them track changes in how the state reported coronavirus cases and deaths. In turn, 9.4 million users turned to the site for conravirus-related news, including 1.2 million to their daily case tracker and interactive map.

In the past year, the team guided WSLS.com through a site redesign, a move to the Arc Publishing system and a rebuild of their engagement systems. The technology overhaul improved performance, boosted local news production and grew the audience.

The small, but mighty site is now a critical source for news in its market and a working model of what’s possible when an entire TV station works together on-air and online."

WDIV-Local 4 names Dianna Sharpe as new Business Manager

WDIV-Local 4, the Graham Media Group-owned NBC affiliate in Detroit, has announced the appointment of Dianna Sharpe as the station’s new Business Manager. Sharpe will replace Kathy Salazar, the current Vice President and Business Manager, who announced her retirement in August. Sharpe and Salazar will work in tandem until the end of the year.

Sharpe will lead and analyze all financial reporting requirements, be responsible for all revenue recognition and reporting and support the General Manager and Department Head team in forecasting, budgeting, expense management and other business activities at the station.

For the last 13 years, Sharpe has worked for the accounting firm KPMG, most recently as a manager in Resource Management. She has demonstrated success in various areas of operations, project management, human resources, recruitment and retention, conflict resolution, change management, diversity and inclusion, and resource scheduling. Prior to KPMG, Sharpe worked for Deloitte Services, DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, and Kelly Services.

“Dianna is the right leader to continue to build an engaged, high performing, and inclusive culture at WDIV-Local 4. She has the enviable combination of great business acumen and expertise in human relations. I’m excited to have her join our leadership team,” said Vice President and General Manager Marla Drutz. “The community is who we serve as a news and information leader, so I’m thrilled that Dianna is also committed to contributing to our region in so many various ways.”

Sharpe believes in empowering the youth of today with the skills and tools to face the challenges of tomorrow. For this reason, she is currently the Treasurer of the Michigan PTA and a member of the National Association of Black Accountants. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from Davenport University.

Sharpe lives in Southfield with her husband and children.

WDIV Adopts Detroit Public School

WDIV-Local 4 has embarked on “Help Me Hank: The School Project,” a 10-month commitment to better the physical environment of Thurgood Marshall Elementary-Middle School in Detroit.

The station partnered with Detroit Public School Community District to identify a school that was in crucial need of building renovations.  Thurgood Marshall Elementary-Middle School is home to nearly 700 students and dedicated faculty and staff.

“As a reporter in Detroit for the last 16 years, I’ve seen school children and teachers trying to learn and teach in appalling conditions and it is unacceptable,” said Help Me Hank Consumer Reporter Hank Winchester. “‘Help Me Hank: The School Project’ is not about who is to blame for the state of the schools, but how we, as a community, can work with our generous friends and the people of the school district to create a better physical learning environment for the young and curious students of Thurgood Marshall.”

The cafeteria and front office were the first targets for renovations. Hire It Done and PPG Paint donated time, materials, and people to transform the cafeteria and main office.

“Right now the gymnasium doesn’t have bleachers. There are two-by-fours on top of paint buckets for people to sit,” said Kim Voet, news director. “The gymnasium, media center, and ways to improve technology are the next big things on our list.”

“The school mascot is a dolphin and there was not one dolphin in the building. When our friends from Fathead provided dolphin decals for the cafeteria, we could see the excitement from the faculty, staff, parents and students. We can’t wait to do so much more over the next school year,” said Winchester.

“Building quality is important to student outcomes. There’s a real sense of pride that comes from being in an updated, safe and physically attractive learning environment. Local 4 is headquartered in Detroit and the schools of this city are our neighbors and are educating our future leaders,” said Marla Drutz, Local 4 vice-president and general manager.