“This is a community award as much as honoring our individual efforts. We are happy to bring back this national recognition that our community supports high quality local news.” Vice President of Radio for WNIN Steve Burger said.
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) announced Wednesday that WNIN-FM is the winner of a national Edward R. Murrow award in the documentary category. The winning entry was the WNIN episode of The Trend titled, “Freedom of Speech-Autistic Teens Take Your Calls” that aired in May of 2014.
Cass Herrington was the producer and host for the live, call-in program. Steve Burger was the studio engineer and Brianna Williams was the call screener. The program featured two teenage boys suffering from severe autism spectrum disorder. They took listener calls and typed their answers, with assistance, on iPad devices. The devices were necessary because the boys do not have controlled speech function. The program is archived on the station’s website, news.wnin.org
The award will be presented at a ceremony in New York, NY in October.
RTDNA is the world’s largest professional organization exclusively serving the electronic news profession. RTDNA members include local and network news executives, news directors, producers, reporters, digital news professionals, as well as educators and students. Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, RTDNA works to protect the rights of electronic journalists in the courts and legislatures throughout the country, promotes ethical standards in the industry, provides members with training and education and honors outstanding work in the profession.
The Radio Television Digital News Association 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. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession.
