WBHM/WSGN won two RTNDA Murrow awards for Region 9 (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas). The multi-part series and call-in program Searching for Safetown won Best Series. Contributors included News Director Tanya Ott, Morning Edition Host Steve Chiotakis, All Things Considered Host Andrew Yeager, freelancers Les Lovoy and Gigi Douban, intern Davis Haines and Program Director Michael Krall. Chiotakis also won the award for Best Writing, for his stories VA Missing Drive, Prison Arts and Semantics Antics.
Earlier this month the Alabama Associated Press presented WBHM/WSGN eight broadcast journalism awards, the most of any television or radio station in the state.
For the second year in a row, the Alabama AP honored WBHM with the most awards of any television or radio station in the state. The WBHM news team took top honors in the Public Affairs/Documentary division with Searching for Safetown. Tanya Ott was named Best Radio Reporter in the state and also picked up awards for Best Hard News Feature for her coverage of Alabama's 2 year college controversy and Best Spot News for her coverage of the tornado that killed eight Enterprise High School students. Both stories aired nationally on NPR.
Steve Chiotakis was named Best Sports Reporter and also won the top award for Best Sports Story for his coverage of a potential dome stadium in Birmingham. For the second year in a row, former All Things Considered host Rosemary Pennington was honored as Best Specialized Reporter for her coverage of science, particularly her series God, Darwin and Dixie. The WBHM freelance reporter Les Lovoy was named Best Commentator for his reflections on the Entitlement Generation.
And for the third year in a row, former All Things Considered host Rosemary Pennington has won MASA's Douglas L. Cannon Broadcast Journalism Award for Excellence in Medical Writing. The award is for her series God, Darwin and Dixie, which explored the evolution/creationist debate in Alabama.
"WBHM continues its commitment to providing context for complex issues through long-form reporting," said WBHM General Manager Mike Morgan. "I'm proud our colleagues in broadcasting recognize the efforts of the WBHM News Team. We hope to do even more in the future."
Last year, the station picked up two Public Radio News Directors Incorporated awards at the organization's convention and banquet in New Orleans. The station received top honors in two categories for news departments with 3 or more full-time reporters:
All of the awards won help to underscore WBHM's commitment to public affairs and feature reporting throughout Alabama, the Southeast and the nation.
WBHM serves the Birmingham area and North Central Alabama at 90.3 FM, WSGN serves Gadsden and Northeast Alabama at 91.5 FM. Both stations offer NPR News and Classical Music.
The