Wyoming Public Radio Receives Two Edward R. Murrow Awards

Wyoming Public Radio (WPR) recently won two Edward R. Murrow Regional Awards for reporting.

This is the fourth straight year WPR has been honored and also the fourth time the station has won multiple awards in Region 3, which includes commercial and noncommercial stations in Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The Radio Television Digital News Association selects one award for each category.

WPR won the award for Best Hard News Story for reporter Tennessee Watson’s piece, titled “Mobile Home Owners Have Less Financial Mobility.” The story shows how mobile home owners do not have the same access to the American dream because of how mobile homes are classified.

Watson also won the award for Best News Series for her stories on how the University of Wyoming has been handling cases of sexual misconduct. The series brought attention to the issue and led to some positive changes at the university.

“Tennessee is a wonderful and thorough reporter. When we hired her, she was already an accomplished investigative journalist, and she’s used those skills to report on a wide range of subjects,” says WPR News Director Bob Beck. “All of us in the newsroom are thrilled for her, and these awards are well-deserved.”

Watson thanks the sources who told their stories through her.

“I can’t report without the trust and confidence of those who share their lived experience, of those who believe engaging with journalists is essential to democracy,” she says. “So, it’s with deep gratitude to those individuals that I say it’s an honor to be recognized as an Edward R. Murrow regional winner.”

Wyoming Public Radio is a service of UW. With transmitters and translators throughout the state, WPR reaches nearly every community in Wyoming. For more, go online to www.wyomingpublicmedia.org.