Michigan Radio has been recognized with awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) for its 2017 news coverage.
Michigan Radio was honored with a Kaleidoscope Award from RTDNA in the Large/Small Market Radio category for its Detroit Coverage, which focused on what some call the “Two Detroits” – one rich and thriving, one still poor and struggling. The 50th anniversary of the 1968 uprising in Detroit was a good time to consider what had changed and what had not for the residents of the Motor City. Lester Graham, Sarah Cwiek, Jennifer Guerra and Bryce Huffman all contributed to the coverage.
The Radio Television Digital News Association’s national Kaleidoscope Awards honor news organizations demonstrating a commitment to covering the diversity of the communities they serve and showcase journalistic excellence in covering issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. Only five awards were presented this year and Michigan Radio was the only radio or television station in America to receive one of the awards. These award winners will be recognized at the 2018 Excellence in Journalism Conference in September in Baltimore.
Michigan Radio also received four First Place Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) awards at the organization’s annual banquet this past weekend. The awards included:
- “I wanna be a Batman” received the Best Soft Feature award. The story traced Jennifer Guerra’s “where are they now” search for one of the low income children Michigan Radio’s State of Opportunity team met in one of its very first reports in 2012.
- The Best Nationally Edited Feature award went to “Why Detroit is ground zero for surge in land contracts” produced by Sarah Hulett, which examined why Detroit residents have such a hard time securing traditional mortgages.
- The Best Use of Sound award recognized “Artisans of Michigan: Making Marimbas,” produced by Lester Graham for Stateside, about a handmade marimba workshop in Plymouth, Mich.
- “Pushed Out: A documentary on housing in Grand Rapids,” the Best Documentary winner produced by Dustin Dwyer, explored the growing affordable housing crisis in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Public Radio News Directors Incorporated is a non-profit professional association that exists to improve local news and information programming by serving public radio journalists across the United States. The organization educates and advocates to promote high standards, ethical principles, and significant public service among public radio stations.
