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KBIA, KOMU Win 23 Honors at the Kansas City Press Club Heart of America Awards

Travis McMillen and Aaron Hay

Video producer Travis McMillen (at left) and on-air host/producer Aaron Hay struggle to hold all 23 of the Kansas City Press Club Heart of America trophies awarded to the KBIA 91.3 FM and KOMU-TV 8 newsrooms, real-world media outlets that serve as learning laboratories for Missouri School of Journalism students.

The annual contest honors outstanding journalism published in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Columbia, Mo. (June 17, 2019) — The Missouri School of Journalism took home an impressive number of awards – 23 in total – from the Kansas City Press Club Heart of America Awards banquet held earlier this month.

KBIA won 18 awards, including a sweep in the category of “Beat Reporting.” KBIA-FM is one of the Missouri School of Journalism’s six professional newsrooms that serve as learning laboratories for students. The award winners are a mix of students, and faculty and staff who work as mentors for the students.

KOMU-TV, the premiere training ground for television reporters and producers at the Missouri School of Journalism, took home five awards. The station is the only university-owned commercial television affiliate that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students.

The Kansas City Press Club, a chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, uses the Heart of America Awards to honor outstanding reporting, writing and photography in print, broadcast and online journalism in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

KBIA

First

  • Multi-Media Package: “Life on the Spectrum,” by Kyra Haas and Aviva Okeson-Haberman.
  • General Reporting: “Legacy of Missing Lloyd Gaines, 1938 Supreme Court Plaintiff, Still Haunts Higher Education,” by Kathryn Palmer.
  • Profile: “Decade After a Motorcycle Crash, Dennis Thompson Keeps Riding,” by Aviva Okeson-Haberman.
  • Sports Reporting: “Decade After a Motorcycle Crash, Dennis Thompson Keeps Riding,” by Aviva Okeson-Haberman.
  • Beat Reporting: Bram Sable-Smith.
  • Documentary: “Special Report: Have we backed ourselves into a corner with pesticides?” by Kristofor Husted.
  • Regular Franchise Feature: “Missoui Health Talks,” by Rebecca Smith and KBIA staff.
  • News Website: KBIA.org, Nathan Lawrence and KBIA staff.

Second

  • Deadline Reporting/Breaking News/Spot News: “Mike Parson Sworn in as Governor after Greitens Resignation,” by KBIA staff.
  • Feature: “Facing the unthinkable, families of children with rare diseases build their own community,” by Rebecca Smith.
  • Beat Reporting: Rebecca Smith.
  • Talk Program: “Intersection,” by KBIA staff.

Third

  • Business Reporting: “Special Report: Have we backed ourselves into a corner with pesticides?” by Kristofor Husted.
  • Feature: “Columbia amateur radio operators fill airwaves, train for emergencies during national field day,” by Noah Taborda.
  • Beat Reporting: Kristofor Husted.
  • Public Service Project: “Missouri Health Talks,” by Ryan Famuliner.
  • Talk Program: “Radio Friends with Paul Pepper,” by Paul Pepper, James Mouser, Travis McMillian and Aaron Hay.

Honorable Mention

  • Profile: “Holocaust Survivor Speaks About the Importance of Kindness,” by Mimi Wright.

KOMU

First

  • Investigative Reporting: “TARGET 8: Flawed death investigation highlights problematic coroner system,” by Jamie Grey.
  • News Website: KOMU.com, Annie Hammock.

Second

  • Multi-Media Package: “KOMU 360 Politics,” by Jamie Grey.

Third

  • Feature: “Live-music industry changes as collectors drop hammer on royalty fees,” by Jim Riek.

Honorable Mention

  • Deadline Reporting/Breaking News/Spot News: “Missing 4-year-old found dead,” by Jeimmie Nevalga, Jalyn Johnson.

Updated: November 10, 2020

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