The Radio Television Digital News Association has recognized the WGLT News Department with its most prestigious regional Edward R. Murrow award for overall journalistic excellence. GLT News also won the coveted News Series award for the group of investigative reports, “Police and Race in the Twin Cities.” That also took honors in the Investigative Reporting category.
Since 2005, WGLT has won twenty-nine regional and three national Edward R. Murrow Awards. Last month, the Illinois Associated Press announced WGLT had won six awards for broadcast excellence.
The Murrow award for Overall Excellence is considered by the RTDNA to be the top Murrow because it measures all aspects of news reporting over the entire year. The GLT News entry included coverage of breaking news stories about an affair between McLean County judges and the murder of an east-side Bloomington business woman, election coverage, arts and cultural features as well as diversity and race, among other coverage.
With reaction to Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere as a backdrop, the “Police and Race in the Twin Cities” series told the stories of minority residents who felt they had been unfairly treated by law enforcement, the reaction from Bloomington-Normal police chiefs, legal and academic experts, and the long-running community effort designed to head off related problems. Reporters Judy Valente and Jon Norton spent hours talking with sources and reading police reports, and Valente viewed videos of dozens of police stops in Normal.
“The recently concluded April fund drive showed increased listener support for GLT’s concentration on local news issues, and now professional peers are again confirming this effort with these prestigious honors,” said GLT General Manager Bruce Bergethon. “Our commitment to providing high quality, local reporting has never been stronger, and these awards highlight outstanding efforts by our expanded staff.”
GLT News is being honored in the region which includes small market stations in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Stations are in the small market division unless they are in communities larger than 1,462,000 people. Each regional award competes for national honors to be announced this summer.
WGLT public radio is licensed to Illinois State University and heard at 89.1 and 103.5 FM. GLT offers news, jazz and blues programming, including an all-blues channel, an all-news channel, an all-jazz channel, and an all-acoustic channel available for streaming at www.wglt.org. As an NPR affiliate, WGLT airs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! along with other signature public radio programs such as This American Life. WGLT is a department of the ISU School of Communication.
Hear the GLT News award winning segments at www.wglt.org. For more information, contact GLT Program Director Mike McCurdy at (309) 438-2394 or mjmccur@ilstu.edu.
