Wyoming Public Media Wins Three Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards

Wyoming Public Media (WPM) has been awarded three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for work in 2024, in the “Excellence in Sound” and “Hard News” categories as well as the “News Documentary” category.

These stories will advance to the National Murrow Award competition.

Caitlin Tan, WPM’s natural resource and energy reporter, was presented the award for “Excellence in Sound” for her feature, “Beavers do it best: Humans recreate the animal’s engineering to restore a waterway in Sweetwater County.”

Tan also won an award for “Hard News” featuring her story, “Anthrax. Cattle. Ranchers. Government mistrust. The fallout of Elk Mountain’s rare disease outbreak.”

Melodie Edwards, reporter and WPM podcast producer, won in the “News Documentary” category, featuring “Wolves #2101 and #2301: Part Three of High Altitude Tales,” an episode of The Modern West podcast’s eighth season, “High Altitude Tales.”

The Edward R. Murrow Award, honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism, highlights recipients who demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of broadcast and digital journalism. These awards, granted by the Radio Television Digital News Association, are considered among the most prestigious accolades in broadcast and digital news.

Broadcast and digital news outlets in Wyoming compete against commercial and non-commercial stations in Region 3, which includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. WPM competes in the small-market category.

“WPM’s remarkable journalists shine a spotlight on Wyoming, sharing the distinctive stories of her residents,” says Christina Kuzmych, WPM general manager. “Their dedication to quality journalism not only exemplifies media excellence, but also reflects the commitment of both the public and the university to support this vital state network.”

Earlier this year, Wyoming Public Media reporters won a total of five Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The “First Place Podcast” was awarded to an episode of The Modern West podcast, “Chasing the Dragon,” produced by Hanna Merzbach, WPM reporter, along with Tyler Pratt, with additional reporting from KHOL’s Emily Cohen and Sophia Boyd-Fliegel, with the Jackson Hole News and Guide.

The winning episode, “Chasing the Dragon,” was part of The Modern West podcast’s eighth season, “High Altitude Tales.” Edwards is the executive producer of The Modern West podcast series.

Other Top of the Rockies winners by WPM reporters included:

-- Tan, second-place “Health Feature” for “Anthrax. Cattle. Ranchers. Government mistrust.”

-- Chris Clements, third-place “Politics Feature” for “Obstacles remain to complete the sale of the Kelly Parcel to Grand Teton National Park.”

-- Tan, third-place “Solutions Journalism” for “How a little nonprofit is playing a big role as demands grow and budgets shrink on Wyoming’s largest forest.”

-- Tan, third-place “Sports Feature” for “Skijoring brings cowboys and skiers to small towns.”

-- Hannah Habermann, third-place “Education Feature” for “Our tool bag.”

Since 2005, WPM has won a combination of over 30 regional and national Murrow awards and received over 50 awards from other organizations.

About Wyoming Public Media

WPM is Wyoming’s public radio/media statewide network operating four FM channels and online services. Its Wyoming Public Radio FM signal alone reaches approximately 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 NPR affiliate for Wyoming and licensed to the University of Wyoming as a statewide public service.

WPM’s mission is to connect Wyoming through programming that informs, inspires and educates. Its objectives are to encourage lifelong learning; foster interest and participation in community, national and world affairs; and reflect Wyoming’s and America’s culture and heritage.