KBIA-FM, KOMU-TV students, staff earn 14 awards from Missouri Broadcasters Association
The KOMU 8 team displays the plaques awarded for their wins at Missouri Broadcasters Association awards ceremony on June 1.
By Nate Brown
Osage Beach, Mo. (June 5, 2024) — NPR-member station KBIA-FM and NBC affiliate KOMU-TV, both working labs for students at the Missouri School of Journalism, won a total of 14 awards from the Missouri Broadcasters Association on June 1. The Missouri News Network newsrooms received MBA Awards in several categories, ranging from Best Breaking News Coverage and Best Sports Report to Best Investigative Reporting and Best Breaking Weather Coverage.
“The Missouri Method creates valuable experiences for students by placing them in professional newsrooms, but as these awards show, it also produces news of real value to mid-Missouri,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School. “The wide variety of categories won by these outlets showcases the breadth of impacts created by students’ rigorous, fact-based community reporting.”
In TV’s Special Program – Public Affairs category, KOMU won both awards: first place for “School Board Service: A Candid Conversation” and second place for “KOMU 8’s Mizzou Xtra: Live from the Cotton Bowl.”
“The KOMU 8 team works hard to bring stories that are important to mid-Missouri,” said Associate Professor Jeimmie Nevalga, news director at KOMU. “I am proud of the team we have and the work we do. It’s great when our work is recognized by the TV industry.”
KBIA won second place in breaking news for the death of a university leader in Jefferson City.
“This community saw a tragic start to the year, with Lincoln University Vice President for Student Affairs Antoinette Candia-Bailey dying by suicide in January, and the Chiefs parade shooting in February,” said KBIA Managing Editor Katelynn McIlwain, who co-reported on the Lincoln University story. “But I’m glad to have been able to show up and listen to students’ needs and concerns while they grieved. They are persistent and brave, and we need to keep showing up for them.”
The radio station’s second news award was for “Missouri doulas are taking action to bridge maternal health gaps,” reported by colleague Anna Spidel.
“I’m honored to see that both Anna and I were recognized for stories that amplify Black women and our needs,” McIlwain said. “It’s an important focus that we can’t afford to miss.”
The two J-School broadcast media outlets won the following awards:
KBIA-FM
- First Place, Best Sports Report, for “Rural teen skaters excel in a sport not made for mid-Missouri – a place with only one rink.” Reporting by Kassidy Arena, BJ ’20.
- Second Place, Best Breaking News Coverage, for “Lincoln University students, alumni demand mental health support, accountability from university leadership.” Reporting by Katelynn McIlwain and senior Lilley Halloran.
- Second Place, Best Hard News Reporting, for “Missouri doulas are taking action to bridge maternal health gaps.” Reporting by Anna Spidel.
KOMU-TV
- First Place, Best Breaking News Coverage, for “Officer shot in the line of duty.”
- First Place, Best Breaking Weather Coverage, for “First winter storm of 2024.” Reporting by Matt Beckwith, Beth Finello and Kesley Kobielusz.
- First Place, Best Feature Reporting, for “EmVP series: Man who helped build KOMU 8’s tower watches it come down after 70 years.” Reporting by Emily Spain, BJ ‘12.
- First Place, Best Special Program – Public Affairs, for “School Board Service: A Candid Conversation.” Reporting by Emily Spain, BJ ‘12.
- First Place, Best Video Storytelling, for “Watching a historic TV tower come down 70 years later.” Reporting by Emily Spain, BJ ’12, and Dominick Lee.
- First Place, Social Media Star, Beth Finello.
- Second Place, Best Hard News Reporting, for “How the City of Columbia is spending money to address homelessness.” Reporting by Jackson Valenti, BJ ’24.
- Second Place, Best Investigative Reporting, for “Breaking down foreign-owned farmland in Missouri.” Reporting by John Murphy, BJ ‘24.
- Second Place, Best Local Website, for komu.com.
- Second Place, Best News Anchor, Taylor Freeman.
- Second Place, Best Special Program – Public Affairs, for “KOMU 8’s Mizzou Xtra: Live from the Cotton Bowl.” Reporting by Ben Arnet.
KBIA-FM, mid-Missouri’s NPR-member station, reaches 14 counties and has served mid-Missouri since 1972. KBIA is a university-licensed, community-supported not-for-profit institution, 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.
KOMU-TV is the area’s NBC affiliate and is the only university-owned commercial television station in the U.S. that uses its newsroom as a working lab for students. KOMU is an auxiliary enterprise of the University of Missouri and generates all revenue from station operations; its investments in broadcast technology are funded entirely via advertising and retransmission revenues. KOMU receives no funding from the university or state.
Updated: June 5, 2024