VPR Receives Three National Edward R. Murrow Awards

Vermont Public Radio was honored with three national Edward R. Murrow Awards for its news coverage Monday evening at the Radio Television Digital News Association dinner in New York. John Van Hoesen, VPR's vice president of news and programming, and Senior Reporter Steve Zind attended the event. Steve sent along his thoughts about the evening:

Monday’s drive south took us through some beautiful peak foliage in Windham County and Western Massachusetts – quite a contrast to the view of warehouses that dominated the last leg of the trip on the train ride into the city. This was the 41st year of the Murrow Awards and 62 different news organizations were honored, from local radio and television stations to national networks and worldwide news services. As each award was presented, an audio sampling of the winning entry was played. It was fascinating to hear the range of stories and get a sense of the issues in play in other parts of the country. VPR’s three awards were for best documentary, best use of sound and writing.

A highlight of the evening for me was seeing former CBS reporter Richard C. Hottelet receive a distinguished service award. He’s someone I remember from childhood. Hottelet, who’s 93, worked with Murrow and covered WWII, providing the first eyewitness reports of the Normandy landing. He received a standing ovation when he went to the podium. When there was a problem playing audio from one of his old reports, he quipped, “Oh, it wasn’t that good, anyway.”

I sat next to NPR’s Boston-based reporter Chris Arnold, whose coverage of the home foreclosure mess was an award winner. It was interesting to talk with him about stories he’s working on. It was really an honor to be in the company of so many dedicated news people from old veterans like Richard Hottelet to young reporters like Chris who are so enthusiastic about the work they’re doing, and excited about all the changes happening in our profession.

Top Photo Caption: Steve Zind, NPR Interim CEO Joyce Slocum, and John Van Hoesen
Bottom Photo Caption: Steve Zind accepts VPR's National Edward R. Murrow Award

VPR Wins Three National Edward R. Murrow Awards

We were thrilled to learn today that Steve Zind and VPR's news and programming team has been honored with three 2011 national Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in electronic journalism.

VPR was recognized for the documentary “Afghanistan’s Other War,” use of sound in a report on night patrol with the Vermont National Guard and the Afghan National Police, and for the writing in An Appreciation of the Cluster Fly.

The Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). VPR won three of 13 national awards in the small market radio category. Earlier this year, VPR was recognized with six regional Murrow Awards for outstanding news coverage. The award will be presented to VPR during a ceremony in New York City in October. A full listing of national Murrow Award winners is available here.

Afghanistan’s Other War was produced by John Van Hoesen. Lynne McCrea produced the night patrol story. Zind’s reporting from Afghanistan was made possible by the VPR Journalism Fund, which covered the expenses associated with the coverage.

Congratulations to Steve and the VPR News team! And thank you for making VPR your source for essential, trusted, and in-depth news and information.