Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, parent organization of 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR news station, is proud to announce that the WESA newsroom and its journalists have been honored with a 2023 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for journalism excellence.
The Regional Murrow Awards, announced May 22 by the Radio Television Digital News Association, are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news.
WESA’s work is judged in the large-market category within a region comprising Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, and it competes against far-larger stations in those states.
The Regional Murrow Awards recognized WESA in the digital news category for “WESA Voting Matters,” its ongoing initiative to provide nonpartisan, independent elections journalism for southwestern Pennsylvania.
Historically, voter turnout at midterm elections is lower than presidential elections even though the outcomes of midterms are key to the future of our region, state and country.
That knowledge prompted WESA to launch “Voting Matters” in 2022 to ensure that eligible voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania went into the November midterm election prepared to make choices aimed at creating the future they envision for their families and communities.
The newsroom-wide project included extensive digital and broadcast coverage of local, regional, state and national races in the primary and general elections. It also featured WESA’s exclusive Voter Guide and its proprietary “WESA Politics” weekly newsletter, as well as deeply reported candidate profiles and examinations of key issues ranging from public policy platforms to election integrity.
“I'm especially grateful for this recognition by the RTDNA because it recognizes and honors the work of each member of our newsroom and their contributions to a critical effort to support democracy,” said Cindi Lash, vice president, news for PCBC.
“This Regional Murrow Award is particularly meaningful in a time when delivering credible, trustworthy journalism for the communities we serve has never been more important,” she said.
Regional Murrow Award winners will move on this summer to the national round of the competition, which includes the best broadcast journalism from all over the U.S.
WESA “Voting Matters” is funded in part by a generous grant from The Heinz Endowments, as well as support from Susan Downs Pettigrew and Terrell Jefferson, Gwen Hepler in loving memory of her husband Dan Hepler, Rick and Bonnie from Mt. Lebanon, and two anonymous donors.
Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award
The announcement of WESA’s 2023 Regional Murrow Award follows the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters’ presentation of an Award for Excellence in Broadcasting to WESA health & science writer Sarah Boden on May 5.
The PAB honored Boden in the category of “Outstanding Radio Feature Story/Report/Series” for “The Cost of Forgetting: Dementia’s tax on financial health.” In this yearlong series, Boden explored how Pennsylvanians with dementia and their families navigate financial decision-making.
Golden Quill Awards
On May 30, journalists from WESA and The Allegheny Front won eight Golden Quill Awards presented by The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania during its annual awards dinner.
A first-place winner from The Allegheny Front also won a “Best in Show” award in this competition, which honors work by professional and student journalists from Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia.
Julie Grant of The Allegheny Front won the Ed King “Best in Show” Award for audio journalism, for “Lawsuit Challenges Plan to Clearcut White Oak in Wayne National Forest,” which examined the growing demand for white oak wood, the predicted decline of white oak in American forests and the threats it faces from climate change, invasive insects and diseases.
Other WESA and Allegheny Front winners for Excellence in Audio Journalism are:
- Spot or breaking news: “Franco Harris dies at age 72, days before the 50th anniversary of the ‘Immaculate Reception’” produced by Kevin Gavin, Marylee Williams, Laura Tsutsui and Emma Furry.
- Public affairs/politics/government: “One street, two visions of Pennsylvania’s future: How politics divides these Pittsburgh neighbors” by Oliver Morrison
- Education: “PPS rejected a plan that would’ve allowed a student to learn from home. He was killed at school” by Sarah Schneider and Oliver Morrison
- History/culture: “How did the Pittsburgh Pirates get their name?” by Katie Blackley
- Business/technology/consumer: “How Extreme Winter Storms Are Connected to Climate Change and Hurting Businesses” by Julie Grant of The Allegheny Front
- Science/environment: “Lawsuit Challenges Plan to Clearcut White Oak in Wayne National Forest” Julie Grant of The Allegheny Front
- Enterprise/investigative: “The Opening of Shell’s Ethane Cracker" by Reid Frazier, Julie Grant, Kara Holsopple, Kathy Knauer of The Allegheny Front
A total of 28 entries from journalists for 90.5 WESA and The Allegheny Front were selected as finalists for Golden Quill Awards. Other finalists included Sarah Boden, Kate Giammarise, An-Li Herring, Kiley Koscinski, Bill O’Driscoll and Sarah Schneider of WESA.
Keystone Media Awards 2023
The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation has honored journalists from Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation with six first-place awards and 17 total awards — more than any Pennsylvania news organization in its competition category — in the 2023 Keystone Media Awards.
The Keystone Media Awards, announced on June 1, recognize "journalism that consistently provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers and audiences, and faithfully fulfills its First Amendment rights/responsibilities."
More than 2,600 entries were submitted by 139 Pennsylvania news organizations for consideration in this annual statewide competition. The awards will be presented Nov. 1 in Harrisburg.
First-place winners from WESA and The Allegheny Front are:
- Best Continuing Coverage: Margaret J. Krauss, Sarah Schneider, Julia Zenkevich, WESA, for “Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse”
- Best Series: Sarah Boden of WESA, for “The cost of forgetting: Dementia's tax on financial health”
- Best Enterprise Reporting: Kate Giammarise of WESA and Rich Lord of PublicSource, for "Whispers in the Stacks"
- Best Public Service: Oliver Morrison of WESA, for “In Braddock, Fetterman's record on crime is more complex than political ads would have you believe”
- Best Regularly Scheduled News or Sports Talk Program: Laura Tsutsui, Marylee Williams, Kevin Gavin, Nick Konopka of WESA, for “The Confluence: Effects of the repeal of Roe v. Wade ripple across Pennsylvania”
- Best Documentary: Reid Frazier, Julie Grant, Kara Holsopple, Kathy Knauer of The Allegheny Front, for “Covering the Start Up of Shell's Ethane Cracker.”
Other Keystone honorees from WESA and The Allegheny Front include:
Second Place:
- Best Spot News Coverage: Kiley Koscinski, Oliver Morrison of WESA, for “Pittsburgh groups react after the Supreme Court ends the right to an abortion”
- Best Regularly Scheduled News or Sports Talk Program: Kevin Gavin, Marylee Williams, Laura Tsutsui, Boen Wang of WESA, for “The Confluence: One hundred days in office: Mayor Ed Gainey on violence, young people, campaign promises”
- Best Digital Presence: Katie Blackley, Patrick Doyle, Jakob Lazzaro, WESA
- Podcast (Broadcast): Katie Blackley of WESA, for “Good Question!” podcast
- Best Series: Kara Holsopple and Kathy Knauer of The Allegheny Front, in partnership with Terina J. Hicks and Donna Baxter of Soul Pitt Media, for “Sowing Soil with Soul”
- Best Enterprise Reporting: Julie Grant of The Allegheny Front, for “Lawsuit challenges plan to clearcut white oak in Wayne National Forest.”
Honorable Mention:
- Best Newscast: Maria Scapellato, Doug Shugarts of WESA, for “Morning Edition: Sentencing/Oliver Attack/Pandemic Artists/Evictions Assistance”
- Best Feature: Kiley Koscinski of WESA, for “Pittsburgh's newest art museum keeps the tradition of American tattooing alive”
- Best Public Service: Patrick Doyle, Chris Potter of WESA, for “Voting Matters: Voter Guide 2022”
- Best Regularly Scheduled News or Sports Talk Program: Kevin Gavin, Marylee Williams, Laura Tsutsui of WESA, for “The Confluence: Franco Harris dies at age 72, days before the 50th anniversary of the 'Immaculate Reception”
- Best Sports Feature: Katie Blackley of WESA, for “How did the Pittsburgh Pirates get their name?”
2023 Pennsylvania Bar Association Media Awards
The Pennsylvania Bar Association announced in October that two WESA journalists are among the honorees in its 2023 Media Awards competition, which recognizes journalistic excellence in news and feature reporting on the legal system and its operations.
Sarah Boden, who covers health and science news, won a first-place award in the radio-podcast category for her series, “The Cost of Forgetting: Dementia’s tax on financial health.”
Bill O'Driscoll, who covers arts and culture news, won the second-place award in that category for his story, “Out on a limb: Carnegie International project seeks legal personhood for a tree."
Their awards will be presented Nov. 1 during the 2023 Keystone Media Awards Brunch in Harrisburg.
