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NHPR Newsroom Cited for Excellence in Prestigious Regional Journalism Competition

 

New Hampshire Public Radio is the winner of five regional 2020 Edward R. Murrow Awards, picking up citations across news, sports and digital categories, including an inaugural award for podcasting. News coverage ranging from a deep dive into the state’s long running conversation around educational funding for local schools, to the niche winter sport of dog sledding, to a look into the history and relevance of the New Hampshire primary are some of the NHPR reporting projects earning top regional honors.

Each year, the Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. Regional Murrow Awards are presented to small and large radio, television and digital outlets based in 14 geographic regions across the U.S.; NHPR competes in the Small Market Radio category in Region 10, encompassing Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The choice of honors reflected NHPR’s strength in both day to day news reporting and longer form storytelling. Notable NHPR awards included a top honor in the podcast category, the first time the regional Murrows fielded entries for this form of journalism. The “Stranglehold” podcast – NHPR’s winning submission – explored the history, evolution and continued relevance of the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary, while also probing some of the mythology around this longstanding political tradition. It’s the first politics-themed podcast produced by the station.

“It’s a terrific honor to hear this news regarding our 2019 reporting efforts – efforts that reflect both individual and team contributions, hard news that impacts public policy and our civic life, to features that reveal unique qualities about life in New Hampshire,” said Dan Barrick, news director at NHPR. “The range of the citations speaks to the strength of our team across the newsroom, and our ability to embrace and advance different forms of storytelling.”

Also from the Murrow Awards, the Bear Brook podcast was cited for Multimedia. Formerly known as the ‘website’ category, the Murrows expanded the category to allow stations to showcase their broadcast, digital and social media approaches to stories, and overall web presence around a news product. Bear Brook tells a complicated story of a long-running murder investigation involving unidentified bodies found near a New Hampshire state park. The team behind the podcast utilized timelines, video, maps and other interactive tools to help shape that story online; Bear Brook continues to be the station’s most popular podcast, with more than 12 million downloads from across the globe.

The list of NHPR winning entries in full, in the Small Market Radio Station category:

Regional winners are automatically considered for awards in the National Edward R. Murrow Awards competition, which will be announced in June. 
“Our newsroom – like many newsrooms across the country – is facing unprecedented challenges in reporting on COVID-19,” said Jim Schachter, president & CEO of NHPR. “Being reminded by these awards of the breadth and excellence of the work of NHPR’s journalists is a salve in troubled times. Like our coverage of the health crisis, these awards highlight just how relevant and vital quality journalism is to our lives. We are thankful for our many supporters across the state and beyond. With their help, we continue to make investments in reporting and podcasting as we embrace a public service mission in which our entire organization takes pride.”

According to the RTDNA, The Murrow Awards embody the values, principles and standards set forth by pioneering broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. The newsman became legendary for his broadcasts from wartime London in the 1940s, and for reporting on McCarthyism in the 1950s. Among the most respected journalism awards in the world, Murrow Award-winning stories put public interest above all else, provide a catalyst for public discussion, and adhere to the RTDNA Code of Ethics, says RTDNA.

For a complete list of Edward R. Murrow Regional Award winners, click here.

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About NHPR

Since 1981, New Hampshire Public Radio has shaped the media landscape in the Granite State and beyond. Our mission is “Expanding minds, sparking connections, building stronger communities.” NHPR is broadcast from 14 different sites, making it by far New Hampshire’s largest (and only) statewide radio news service. Every week, NHPR is the choice of 157,000 listeners as a primary source of in-depth and intelligent news coverage, with thousands more viewing NHPR.org, following our social media sites or listening to our podcasts. Each day, New Hampshire Public Radio delivers several hours of local news reported by its award-winning news team. Locally produced programs and podcasts include The Exchange, The Folk Show, Outside/In, and Civics 101, among others. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR News in the Granite State and broadcasts national weekly programs such as The Moth Radio Hour, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, and This American Life.

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