RTDNA national Murrow Awards for 2009

NPR won four national Edward R. Murrow Awards in latest RTDNA contest honoring excellence in electronic journalism. Top winners among the 14 additional public radio newsrooms recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association for 2009  include Boston’s WBUR, honored for overall excellence among large-market radio stations, and Michigan Radio’s The Environment Report, cited for best news series in the radio network division. Among five public radio outlets that won in the small-market division, North Country Public Radio in Canton, N.Y., won a Murrow for investigative reporting by David Sommerstein and WSHU in Fairfield Conn., for Charles Lane’s continuing coverage of attacks against Latinos in Patchogue, Long Island. The national Murrow for overall excellence among broadcast-affiliated websites went to NPR.org, which was redesigned last summer to highlight news headlines and feature more visual elements. NPR’s winning news reports include:

A Familiar Enemy for Platoon,” a two-parter reported by Tom Bowman and Graham Smith, sharing the national Murrow for hard news reporting;

“Friday Night Lives,” a series on high school football by Tom Goldman and Mike Pesca, for sports reporting;
“Can I Just Tell You?,” commentaries by Tell Me More host Michel Martin, for writing; and

“In the Kennel: Uncovering a Navy Unit’s Culture of Abuse,” an investigation of hidden abuses of homosexuals in the military by Youth Radio’s Rachel Krantz, aired on All Things Considered.