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 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!