Wyoming Public Radio and Media Wins Six Edward R. Murrow Regional Awards

Wyoming Public Radio and Media (WPR/WPM) has won a station record of six Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in the small market category.

The station won awards in the investigative reporting, hard news, continuing coverage, best use of sound, sports reporting and documentary categories.

The Radio Television Digital News Association presents Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. They are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news. One award is given in each category.

The winning WPM entries are:

-- Tennessee Watson’s story, “Advocates Say Sexual Violence Survivors Face Gaps in Law Enforcement Training,” took the award for investigative reporting. It looked at how sexual assault training for law enforcement is not a statewide priority.

-- “Child Sexual Abuse Investigations More Successful with Teamwork,” also by Watson, won in the best hard news category. The story looked at how law enforcement, prosecutors and social service agencies team up to support child abuse victims that has led to more convictions of abuse.

-- Cooper McKim’s extensive coverage of the Blackjewel coal mine bankruptcy and how it impacted miners and the community of Gillette won the award for continuing coverage.

-- Bob Beck won the best documentary award for his serious and humorous look at issues surrounding long-term care in Wyoming. “ The Widower” was featured on the podcast “The Modern West.”

-- The award for excellence in use of sound went to Melodie Edwards. “For Ice Fishermen in Warming Times, Tiptoeing on Thin Ice Is No Metaphor” took listeners on an ice fishing expedition, where fishermen were nervous about cracks in the ice and whether the activity was safe.

-- “Indian Relay Race Is a Tradition for More Than Just the Rodeo,” by Catherine Wheeler, won the sports reporting award. It looked at the World Championship Indian Relay Race in Sheridan. It featured Native Americans who raced around a track jumping on and off a bareback horse.

“It’s an honor being recognized in so many different categories,” says Beck, WPM news director. “Having five different reporters win is a testament to our outstanding newsroom.”

The regional awards recognize the best broadcast and digital reporting in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

“WPM has a terrific reporting team, and it was built through the support of Wyoming donors and UW,” says WPM General Manager Christina Kuzmych. “It’s a true gift to the state of Wyoming.” 

Based at the University of Wyoming, WPM is Wyoming's public radio/media statewide network, operating four FM channels and an online service. Its Wyoming Public Radio FM signal alone reaches about 95 percent of the state and is heard by over 70,000 Wyomingites. Online content is accessed by over 1.2 million unique visitors annually. It is the National Public Radio affiliate for Wyoming.