TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Radio Television Digital News Association named University of Alabama-housed Alabama Public Radio the winner of five regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in the categories of overall excellence, best series, best soft feature, best use of sound and best documentary.
All but one of the winning entries came from the newsroom’s yearlong coverage of the 50th anniversary of key moments in the fight for civil rights in Alabama. The overall excellence entry included Ryan Vasquez’s story on how the media in the 1960s failed to cover the civil rights movement and Stan Ingold’s feature on how the locations like the Edmund Pettus Bridge are now tourist attractions. A newscast by APR’s Jeremy Loeb rounded out the winning entry.
“Everyone in the newsroom really worked hard on our civil rights coverage,” said Pat Duggins, APR news director. “It’s always very flattering to have our efforts generously recognized this way, and we’re all very grateful for it.”
APR was also recognized for best documentary for “Civil Rights Radio.” Duggins produced and hosted this program about the so-called “children’s march,” where black teenagers in Birmingham staged their own desegregation rally in 1963 only to be met with fire hoses and police dogs.
“With media in a state of constant change, APR is committed to providing the best possible local and regional news service to a statewide audience,” said Elizabeth Brock, director of the Center for Public Television and Radio at The University of Alabama. “It’s an honor to have our work recognized and a tribute to the support of our listeners and The University of Alabama.”
The regional awards are nominations for national Murrow awards, which will be announced in July.
Contact
Misty Mathews, UA Media Relations, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu
Source
Pat Duggins, 205/348-5913, pduggins@apr.org