Graham Media Group honored with 6 prestigious Murrow awards

Three Graham Media Group television stations are proud recipients of a combined six Regional 2019 Edward R. Murrow Awards by the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Houston’s KPRC 2 received three awards, including the highly coveted Overall Excellence in Large Market Television, which recognizes the station’s commitment to quality journalism. KPRC’s entry in this category featured examples of breaking news, investigations and special event coverage, as well as community service initiatives and digital content.

Another of KPRC 2’s Regional Murrow Awards was presented for Best News Series in Large Market Television for “Inside MS-13,” Anchor/Reporter Jacob Rascon’s in-depth reports on the notoriously violent transnational gang, and the evolving fight against it from El Salvador to Houston.

KPRC 2 News at 6 p.m. was awarded Best Newscast in Large Market Television for “Tragedy in Santa Fe,” which featured team coverage of the May 2018 school shootings in Santa Fe, Texas. The KPRC team worked to provide complete and compassionate coverage to its community in the immediate wake of such a horrific event.

WDIV-Local 4/ClickOnDetroit received two awards, including Excellence in Sound in Large Market Television for “Criss-Cross Crash,” a beautifully crafted story that exemplifies the art of audio. WDIV-Local 4/ClickOnDetroit’s second Regional Murrow Award was presented for Social Media in Large Market Television, recognizing several examples including “Death of Aretha Franklin,” and “Meteor in Michigan,” to name a few. Their digital efforts offer unparalleled social media coverage to provide useful, concise information on topics important to the audience.

Roanoke’s WSLS 10 was recognized for Excellence in Innovation in Small Market Television for “In the Navy,” a series featuring what it’s like to be a sailor for a day with News Anchor John Carlin attempting the Navy’s water survival training course.

“We’re honored by our team’s recognition by our peers in the Radio Television Digital News Association,” Graham Media Group President and Chief Executive Officer Emily Barr said. “Our main mission is to inform and celebrate the communities we serve. We share these awards with our viewers and the communities we so proudly cover.”

Graham Media Group’s six regional winning entries will now go on to the national RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards judging round. Winners will be announced in June, and presented at the annual RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala on Oct. 14 in New York City.

The Radio Television Digital News Association has honored outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of electronic journalism.

WDIV-Local 4 wins 2 prestigious 2019 Regional Murrow Awards

WDIV-Local 4 is honored to receive two coveted Regional Murrow Awards for Excellence in Social Media and Excellence in Sound.

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

“The social media Murrow win is especially gratifying. It reinforces that we are leading the way in multi-platform content distribution. This newer medium is the wave of the future and Local 4 is leading the charge,” Local 4 news director Kim Voet said. “Winning the Murrow for sound three years in a row shows our photographers’ commitment to being the best storytellers possible.”

“Our amazing news team puts out this effort on a daily basis, so it’s very rewarding to be recognized with this prestigious award that celebrates the best in our industry,” Vice-President and General Manager Marla Drutz said.

Station awards:

Excellence in Social Media

Social media manager Ken Haddad’s strategy is a multi-platform approach to covering the big stories of the day, and frequently, the station’s posts land at the top of the social media charts compared to those from across the country. Highlights include: coverage of Aretha Franklin’s passing, the meteor in Michigan, 2018 election coverage, the digital Jason Carr Live show, the Boblo Boat fire and the Central Michigan University lockdown.

Excellence in Sound: Criss Cross Crash

Video Journalists Alex Atwell and Hans Ihlenfeldt enhance the viewers' experience of this story using multiple cameras, multiple microphones and sounds of the crowd’s reaction to car and school bus racing in Flat Rock, Michigan. This is the third year in a row the station has won this award.

WDIV-Local 4 is the only large-market TV station in Michigan to win in our region. Both entries will now go head-to-head with the other regional winners for the National Murrow Award.

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 at the heels of WDIV-Local 4 winning the MAB Station of the Year award for the fifth year in a row.