VPR Wins Six Edward R. Murrow Awards

We are thrilled to announce that VPR has been honored with six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

VPR received awards for its coverage of Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken captive by pirates off the Somali coast, Lynne McCrea's continuing coverage of a homeless family in Chittenden County, Nina Keck's investigative reporting on Vermont National Guard members who said they were denied promotions and permanent positions, our Champlain 400 series, Steve Zind's report on UVM's women's basketball team in the NCAA basketball tournament, and VPR.net's news pages.

I caught up with Steve Zind to talk about his award-winning story, UVM Falls To UCONN In First Round:

This was one of my favorite assignments because it was so much fun! Having a court-side seat to watch the awesome UConn team was a thrill, but the best part was seeing the UVM women give their all against impossible odds and do it so cheerfully. They were inspiring. So were the Catamount fans who traveled to Connecticut for the game. That's what I tried to capture in the story. Plus, there was so much sound: the bands, the cheerleaders, the PA announcer, the radio play by play guy sitting next to me and the crowd. Having all that to work with helped me give listeners a real feel for what it was like to be there.

When I look at the number of regional and national Murrows VPR has won in recent years, I think its a real testament to how well things work around here. If the engineering, production, promotion, membership, underwriting and programming folks weren't as good as they are, the reporters wouldn't have the resources to do what we do.

You’ll find links the award-winning coverage at our website. Thank you for making this kind of award-winning news coverage possible!

And speaking of awards, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is among the winners of the 2009 George Foster Peabody Awards for her "precise, courageous and often moving accounts" from Afghanistan. Learn more about her award and listen to her coverage here. Congrats, Soraya!

Queen City Radio Hour Returns

Listen tonight at 7 for the latest Queen City Radio Hour. Tom Bodett hosts an hour of comedy and music featuring Rusty Dewees, music by Anais Mitchell and Quebec’s Lost Fingers. We’ll peek behind the scenes at speed dating in South Burlington, take you on a turkey drive to Boston and tell a tall tale of Samuel de Champlain’s misadventures.

The program was recorded before a live audience during Burlington's Lake Champlain quadricentennial celebration. VPR's Neal Charnoff, who produced the program, writes: "As with any theatrical production, seeing the actors take words on a page and make them come alive in performance was a small miracle. Jay Craven was a calm and wise ringleader, and Tom Bodett was as funny, easygoing and friendly as he sounds on the radio. The most pleasant surprise was the enthusiastic, rock-star-worthy response from a near capacity crowd at the Flynn."

I hope you will tune in and let us know what you think!

Your Pledge Dollars at Work: Champlain 400

VPR's special series, Champlain 400, is truly an organization-wide project combining the efforts of VPR News, Commentaries, Music, and Online.

You may have heard this piece by John Van Hoesen, VPR's VicePresident for News & Programming, where he describes some of the "behind the scenes" work that went into the 10-part series Champlain 400: Stories from the Lake. VPR producers traveled to more than 15 locations, interviewed more than 20 people, and recorded 15 hours of sound - all to bring you the kind of stories and history and reporting you expect from Vermont Public Radio.

"Stories from the Lake": just one part of our multilayered coverage of Champlain 400, and just one more example of your pledge dollars at work for you.

Sing a Song of the Lake

This past Thursday evening, the last piece neatly settled in place for VPR's musical celebration of Lake Champlain. Like the Lake itself, the legacy of songs about it are a rich blend of history, culture, and - most important of all - the diversity of people connected to this special region.

Singer, songwriter and historian Deb Flanders joined Robert Resnik in the VPR Performance Studio for conversation and an enchanting set of songs including classics like The Butcher Boy and 10,000 Miles, along with a few newly written tunes.

VPR's music showcase is part of the Champlain 400 project.

On July 5th, All The Traditions will feature the voices and music of the French Canadian fiddling/guitar duo Lisa Ornstein and Andre Marchand; singer/songwriter Alan Greenleaf; and this intimate recording session with Deb Flanders.

Later in the summer (August 2nd at 4pm) we'll share highlights from all of these performances, with a lively set of traditional and original songs about the Lake from Robert Resnik and Marty Morrissey.

A Quadricentennial celebration calls for music of equal scope and magnitude, and these talented musicians deliver!

Music for the Quadricentennial

Staffers know it, so do many listeners. And word has gotten around, so local musicians definitely know it. At VPR we're very fortunate in the fact that the performance space in the heart of our Colchester building is one of the acoustically finest recording studios in the state.

I spent yesterday in there, interviewing and hosting several musicians for a showcase we’re producing for the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial anniversary. Not sure when it will air, but if you keep an eye on the website we'll let you know as soon as possible.

The day started off on the right foot (and the left, and the left-right-left!) with Lisa Ornstein and André Marchand, the French-Canadian fiddler and guitarist/singer duo. They were in town for an evening concert at UVM, but they took a little time to stop by and share some of their wide repertoire of chansons, dances, reels and other traditional tunes. They’re great. Lisa has a longstanding connection to this area, as a protégée of the legendary fiddler Louis Beaudoin. Among André’s credits is several years with Quebec’s Juno-winning La Bouttine Souriante. We all got a laugh from Lisa describing her move from Canada back to the family home, after graduating: “It was in Maine. Northern Maine. So far North in fact that when I moved back I had to go NORTH from Québec City to get there!”

Next up was one of my favorite local acts, Marty Morrissey and VPR's own Robert Resnik. With more than 30 instruments and 50 years of experience between them (25 of those years playing together), these two really know how to share some learning, have a great time, and get everyone else involved in the fun too. And why not? There’s a lot to keep a songwriter entertained here: a rich maritime and military history, wildly unpredictable weather, breathtaking natural beauty (every season!), Champ, farming culture, and…yep, even rock snot. And other invasive species.

After a short break we were joined by singer/songwriter Alan Greenleaf. A farmer himself, fittingly, he had spent the earlier part of the day playing at the opening weekend of a local farmer’s market. He offered a final set of songs ranging from the whimsical to the poignant, covering everything from the flood of 1927 to the austere landscape of our northern winters, and that hallowed Vermont summertime tradition, the Strolling of the Heifers.

This was just one of those days where I felt lucky. Blessed to live where I do, fortunate to be involved in special gatherings like this, and grateful to have the ears and eyes to be able to take it all in.

Thanks to Robert, Nora, Chris, and everyone else who made the recording session possible.

The final words for the day come from Mr. Greenleaf: “I never get tired of looking out the window. This is a beautiful place we live in, Vermont. It’s worth a lot of songs.”

Look for a complete overview of our Quadricentennial programming on the Champlain 400 page at VPR.NET.

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Cheryl Willoughby

VPR Dir. of Music Programming