KBIA earns three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards
COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 13, 2023) — KBIA-FM, the Missouri School of Journalism’s NPR-member station, has won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including a win in the Digital category for the 11th year in a row. Students, faculty and staff honored by the awards, which are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), now advance to the national competition. National winners will be announced in August.
“The work celebrated by these awards has a distinct focus on community issues and the people they impact,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “KBIA’s podcasts and programs are collaborative efforts built on authentic local voices from Mid-Missouri and across the state, and it’s great to see that work recognized at this level.”
In addition to the win in the Digital category, which honored the entire team at KBIA, the station earned the Excellence in Innovation award for “Missouri on Mic” — a audio journalism project that collects oral histories from Missourians — and won the Podcast category for “High Turnout, Wide Margins”, a podcast that delves into issues like voter education and cybersecurity with input from election experts around the state. Both programs involved work from many members of the KBIA team.
KBIA News Director Ryan Famuliner said the local focus of these projects reflects a larger effort by the station — as well as the other professional news outlets coming together in the One Newsroom — to tell stories that come from a place of deep, informed connection to the community.
“KBIA has spent a lot of time in the last few years working on community-based journalism, because we know that re-building trust is going to be a big part of the job of local journalists for years to come,” Famuliner said. “Every year, work that our students are contributing to is honored by RTDNA, which is really remarkable. It’s a testament to KBIA’s efforts to make sure we’re meeting the needs of our modern audience.”
Famuliner also emphasized that the Murrow Awards are one of the most prestigious awards available to local radio and television stations, making the station’s streak of 11 straight Digital awards all the more meaningful for the students, faculty and staff who played a part in earning them.
“Many professionals will go years before winning their first Murrow,” he added.
The regional Murrow Award isn’t the first honor for “High Turnout, Wide Margins.” Earlier this year, the podcast earned a National Headliner Award for a Civic/Political Affairs podcast, a Public Media Journalists Association Award in the Interview Podcast category, and a certificate of merit from the Missouri Broadcasters Association Awards.
About KBIA
KBIA reaches 15 counties and has served mid-Missouri since 1972 as a university-licensed, community-supported, not-for-profit institution that is actively involved in the life of the mid-Missouri area. The station is the area’s largest provider of arts programming, serving more than 30,000 listeners and members each week.
Updated: July 13, 2023