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KUNR earns several awards for local journalism in 2021

KUNR logo with Journalism News Awards 2021/2022 headline.
KUNR Public Radio
National Murrow Award medallion logo. A medallion with an etching of a man wearing a collared shirt and tie. The words “Radio Television News Association Edward R. Murrow Awards” are also etched in.
RTDNA

KUNR receives National Murrow Award

KUNR, in partnership with the Washoe County School District and Report for America, has won a national Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion for KUNR’s Youth Media program. The program recruits and trains the next generation of journalists.

In 2021, our student reporters included Wesley Kaopio, Kathleen Leslie, Janelle Olisea, Fiona Perreault, Kendall Richter, Nick Stewart, Avery Thunder, and May Wells. The instructor is Robert Zorn, who teaches video production, photography and journalism at the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology in Reno. At KUNR, Lucia Starbuck is program coordinator and editor, Jayden Perez and David Isaacson served as digital producers, Anh Gray served as an editor, Crystal Willis is digital editor, and Michelle Billman is managing editor. School district staff who have provided administrative support to this program include Bett Korinek, Joshua Hartzog, and Kathie Smith.

The program receives support from the WCSD Work-Based Learning Programs, facilitated by the Career and Technical Education Department, as well as Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project.


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PMJA

KUNR receives four national PMJA awards

Award announcement published July 20, 2022

The Public Media Journalists Association’s annual awards are given to “the best work in public media journalism across the country,” according to the organization. For work that was reported in 2021, PMJA received more than 1,500 entries. KUNR has placed in four categories within Division B, which is for stations with 4-7 full-time news staffers. Here is the full list of winners, and below is more information about KUNR’s honors.

  • First place in the Collaborative Effort category for KUNR’s Youth Media program. The program is a special partnership with the Washoe County School District (WCSD) to train the next generation of journalists. In 2021, our student reporters included Wesley Kaopio, Kathleen Leslie, Janelle Olisea, Fiona Perreault, Kendall Richter, Nick Stewart, Avery Thunder, and May Wells. The instructor is Robert Zorn, who teaches video production, photography and journalism at the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology in Reno. At KUNR, Lucia Starbuck is program coordinator and editor, Jayden Perez and David Isaacson served as digital producers, Anh Gray served as an editor, Crystal Willis is digital editor, and Michelle Billman is managing editor. The program receives support from the WCSD Work-Based Learning Programs, facilitated by the Career and Technical Education Department, as well as Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project.
  • First place in the Continuing Coverage category for KUNR’s 2021 wildfire coverage. KUNR provided extensive coverage of multiple wildfires in Northeastern California, including the Caldor, Dixie, and Beckwourth Complex fires. Our coverage included breaking news updates on air and online regarding evacuations, damage, weather, and firefighting resources, along with in-depth features to capture the stories and reflections of those impacted or displaced by climate change. KUNR’s lead reporter on this coverage was Lucia Starbuck, a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Contributors included Paul Boger, Danna O’Connor, and Michele Ravera. Noah Glick and Anh Gray were editors. Our digital editor overseeing multiple live blogs was Crystal Willis, and our managing editors were Michelle Billman and Crystal Willis.
  • Second place in the Multimedia Presentation category for the multimedia content KUNR produced for an hour-long documentary, A Year in the Pandemic, marking the first anniversary of COVID-19 entering Northern Nevada. For this special project, KUNR published a detailed timeline and photo essay. We provided a full transcript of the audio for accessibility purposes and commissioned an original illustration, which includes a thoughtful artist statement on the meaning of various aspects of the illustration. Our multimedia team for this documentary included hosts and lead reporters Anh Gray and Lucia Starbuck, contributors Jayden Perez and Natalie Van Hoozer, illustrator Yunyi Dai, digital producers Olivia Ali and Jayden Perez, and managing editors Michelle Billman, Anh Gray, and Crystal Willis. Crystal Willis was specifically in charge of managing multimedia content.

Edward R. Murrow Awards 2022 logo. Illustration of a man wearing a collared shirt and tie.
RTDNA

KUNR receives four Regional Murrow Awards

Award announcement published May 16, 2022

The Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards are decided by judges for the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the contest honors “outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism.” Here are the categories KUNR won in the small market radio division for work aired and published in 2021.

  • Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for our KUNR Youth Media program. The program is a special partnership with the Washoe County School District (WCSD) to train the next generation of journalists. In 2021, our student reporters included Wesley Kaopio, Kathleen Leslie, Janelle Olisea, Fiona Perreault, Kendall Richter, Nick Stewart, Avery Thunder, and May Wells. The instructor is Robert Zorn, who teaches video production, photography and journalism at the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology in Reno. At KUNR, Lucia Starbuck is program coordinator and editor, Jayden Perez and David Isaacson served as digital producers, Anh Gray served as an editor, Crystal Willis is digital editor and Michelle Billman is managing editor. The program receives support from the WCSD Work-Based Learning Programs, facilitated by the Career and Technical Education Department, as well as Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project.
  • Continuing Coverage category for KUNR’s 2021 wildfire coverage. KUNR provided extensive coverage of multiple wildfires in Northeastern California, including the Caldor, Dixie, and Beckwourth Complex fires. Our coverage included breaking news updates on air and online regarding evacuations, damage, weather, and firefighting resources, along with in-depth features to capture the stories and reflections of those impacted or displaced by climate change. KUNR’s lead reporter on this coverage was Lucia Starbuck, a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Contributors included Paul Boger, Danna O’Connor, and Michele Ravera. Noah Glick and Anh Gray were editors. Our digital editor overseeing multiple live blogs was Crystal Willis, and our managing editors were Michelle Billman and Crystal Willis.
  • News Documentary category for A Year in the Pandemic, an hour long documentary marking the first anniversary of the arrival of COVID-19 in Northern Nevada. For this special project, KUNR also published a detailed timeline and a photo essay. Our documentary hosts and lead reporters were Anh Gray and Lucia Starbuck. Jayden Perez and Natalie Van Hoozer contributed to this special. Yunyi Dai created an original illustration for the special. Olivia Ali and Jayden Perez were digital producers. Noah Glick provided technical support. Michelle Billman, Anh Gray, and Crystal Willis were managing editors. 
  • Overall Excellence category for KUNR’s 2021 broadcast and digital content in partnership with Noticiero Móvil. Our award submission included this content:
    • An excerpt from KUNR’s A Year in the Pandemic hour long documentary. 
    • A feature by Kaleb Roedel examining rising childcare needs.
    • A powerful look at the damage caused by the Beckwourth Complex Fire reported by Lucia Starbuck.
    • A StoryCorps-style interview between KUNR Youth Media alumni Janelle Olisea and her English teacher Mr. Greg Burge, produced by Anh Gray.
    • A feature in English and Spanish breaking down the differences among the terms Latino, Latinx, and Hispanic, produced by María Palma in partnership with Noticiero Móvil.
    • A solutions journalism story in English and Spanish exploring a unique effort to provide COVID-19 vaccine access to Latinos and Spanish speakers, produced by Natalie Van Hoozer in partnership with Noticiero Móvil.
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