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 different categories, the most the station has ever received.
The Overall Excellence award was based on VPR News body of work during 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 award was one of nine that VPR received in the competition, which is sponsored by the Radio and Television News Directors Association. VPR was also honored in the following categories:
Best Documentary, for 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, for VPR s reporting on the death of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett and the subsequent reporting on Vermont s sex offender laws.
Best Feature Story, for Lynne McCrea s report on a Vermont homeless woman s struggle to find housing in the economic downturn.
Hard News Feature, for Nina Keck s coverage of the controversy over the artwork on a line of Burton snowboards.
Use of Sound, for Nina Keck s audio postcard at a college exam in which students are tested as they drive a pair of oxen.
Investigative Reporting, for John Dillon s coverage of the asbestos problems in the Lowell and Eden.
Broadcast Writing, for Steve Zind s story Anatomy of a Press Conference, which provided a bird s eye view of the gubernatorial press conference.
Website, for 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.
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.
The Murrow awards are sponsored by the Radio and Television News Directors Association. In all, 12 awards were awarded in the small market radio category for the region, which includes all of the New England states. Vermont Public Radio s awards will be presented this spring.
Vermont Public Radio President Robin Turnau said: Listeners have told us over the last decade that they appreciate and value the in-depth coverage. We have our listeners and supporters to thank for allowing us to provide this service to the public.
The RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. 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.
About VPR
Listener-supported Vermont Public Radio has been serving the people of Vermont and the surrounding region since 1977. As Vermont's only statewide public radio network, VPR is a trusted and independent source for news, music, conversation and much more. For more information about VPR and VPR Classical, a list of frequencies and streaming audio from all of VPR's services, visit www.vpr.net.