Vermont Public Radio wins top Murrow award
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Staff Report - Published: April 10, 2009
Vermont Public Radio has been honored with the top regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in broadcast journalism. VPR was honored in nine of 12 categories, the most the station has ever received.
The Overall Excellence award was based on VPR News stories in 2008.
The entry included a sampler of the year in news and feature coverage, from election night coverage to "Those CCC Boys," a documentary on the Civilian Conservation Corps in Vermont. The entry also included the live broadcast of Vermont Edition from the Tunbridge Fair, Philip Baruth's commentary on Vermont's fertility rate, and VPR's Northeast Kingdom farm family series, among others.
The competition is sponsored by the Radio and Television News Directors Association.
"VPR is honored to receive these awards because they reflect VPR's commitment to broad and in-depth regional news coverage by the entire staff," said John Van Hoesen, vice president for news and programming.
VPR was also honored in the following categories:
Best Documentary — "Those CCC Boys." The half-hour documentary explored the lives of surviving enlistees of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the legacy of the Corps itself. The documentary was produced by Lynne McCrea and written and narrated by Steve Delaney.
Continuing Coverage — Reporting on the death of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett and the subsequent reporting on Vermont's sex offender laws.
Best Feature Story — Lynne McCrea's report on a Vermont homeless woman's struggle to find housing in the economic downturn.
Hard News Feature — Nina Keck's coverage of the controversy over the artwork on a line of Burton snowboards.
Use of Sound — Nina Keck's audio postcard at a college exam in which students are tested as they drive a pair of oxen.
Investigative Reporting — John Dillon's coverage of the asbestos problems in Lowell and Eden.
Broadcast Writing — Steve Zind's story "Anatomy of a Press Conference," which provided a bird's-eye view of the gubernatorial press conference.
Web site - Jonathan Butler's and Tim Johnson's online content during the 2008 election, VPR's series on farm families, "Those CCC Boys" documentary, and the My Vermont essay project.
Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.
Audio and text for VPR's award-winning coverage are at VPR.net.
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