KBIA once again brings home multiple national Gracie Awards
COLUMBIA, Mo. (April 3, 2025) — Two prestigious national Gracie Awards have gone to a staff member and student at KBIA-FM, the Missouri School of Journalism’s NPR-member station. Presented by the Alliance for Women in Media, Gracies honor media by, for and about women.
Recent graduate Gillian Koptik, BJ ’24, won in the Interview Feature student category, marking the second year in a row that KBIA has earned that award. Becky Smith, a reporter and producer at KBIA, won for Reporter/Correspondent in non-commercial local radio — her second Gracie in three years.
In addition, Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan, a podcast managed by KBIA managing editor Katelynn McIlwain, earned an honorable mention in the Audio Podcast — Entertainment category.
“These awards showcase the well-rounded talent from both students and staff at KBIA,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “It’s exciting to see the station’s community reporting continue to receive national recognition.”
Koptik’s award honored her account of local band The Burney Sisters’ final show in Columbia before their move to Nashville. In addition to the sisters themselves, the story is filled with the perspectives of locals who had become close to the band and its music in a variety of ways over the years.
“I really wanted to focus on the community the Burney Sisters fostered in Columbia and how big of an impact they had on the music scene there,” Koptik said. “I am so grateful for the trust from the Burney Sisters’ family and friends to share such an instrumental moment in their lives — their vulnerability and honesty made this story what it is. Now, winning this award feels like another nod in their honor.”
Koptik’s work was praised by Smith, who said it exemplified what KBIA aims to do with its local reporting.
“This is such an amazing example of what it means to be a media organization that represents and gives voice to a community,” Smith said. “It’s a phenomenal piece of community-centric journalism presented in such an audio-rich way.”
But Smith also gathered some acclaim of her own. Up against public radio professionals from all over the country, she won for a selection of her work ranging from a piece about the important and little-known fur-trapping industry in Missouri to coverage of an education initiative for inmates and staff at a women’s prison in rural Missouri.
“I might be from rural Missouri, but I didn’t know the world of fur trapping until I started having conversations with folks and gaining insight through listening,” Smith said. “As a reporter who covers mid-Missouri for a public radio station, I really want to make sure that those folks get to tell the story and help inform the decisions we make.”
Smith also added that the national scope of the Audio Podcast — Entertainment category made the honorable mention for Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan another win worthy of celebration.
“To know that the podcast was recognized to that degree against podcasts of all sizes from all different kinds of organizations is really incredible,” she said. “It’s huge.”
Winners of this year’s Gracies will be recognized at a gala on May 20 in Los Angeles. For more information, click here.
Updated: April 3, 2025