TEGNA Stations Receive Ten National 2023 Edward R. Murrow Awards
TEGNA stations receive more National Murrow Awards than any other station group and Overall Excellence for a second consecutive year
Tysons, Va. – TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) today announced its stations have received ten 2023 National Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism, more than any other station group. WFAA was recognized for Overall Excellence, Large Market Television, marking the second consecutive year a TEGNA station has received this honor. The Edward R. Murrow Awards are sponsored by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and honor outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism.
“Our commitment to enriching our communities fuels our stations and journalists every day to craft impactful stories that drive change,” said Lynn Beall, EVP and COO of media operations, TEGNA. “Congratulations to all our stations that were recognized for their work.”
The prestigious Murrow Awards “recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community.”
TEGNA stations’ National Edward R. Murrow Award recipients are:
- WFAA (Dallas, TX): Overall Excellence, Large Market Television. WFAA is a trusted source for local journalism that holds the powerful accountable and provides lifesaving information during dangerous conditions, reporting on 30 counties in North Texas where weather can change in an instant. WFAA has a reputation of telling stories many organizations move past and puts the spotlight on quality enterprise journalism, their core mission.
- KARE (Minneapolis, MN): Feature Reporting and Excellence in Video, Large Market Television, for “Gunny at the Wheel,” which was featured in Boyd Huppert’s “Land of 10,000 Stories” series when Boyd received a tip about a 94-year-old farmer still driving a combine during harvest. Working alongside photojournalists Chad Nelson and Tommy Platek, the story of Gunny Knutson proved to be much deeper, with themes of love, sadness, and triumph.
- KARE (Minneapolis, MN): Podcast, Large Market Television, for “KARE 11 Investigates: Cruel & Unusual.” The “Cruel and Unusual” podcast expands on the award-winning investigative journalism reported by the KARE 11 Investigates team. Hosted by reporter A.J. Lagoe, KARE 11 investigated mysterious deaths swept under the rug and ignored by those in power, exposing a deadly pattern of people left to suffer, begging for help that doesn’t come. It also reveals a state turning a blind eye to a jail doctor with a troubled past and the denial of life-saving medical and mental healthcare behind bars. The story led to changes in state laws, including a ban on the same type of prone restraint technique that caused the death of George Floyd.
- KXTV (Sacramento, CA): Investigative Reporting, Large Market Television, for “Fire – Power – Money: Who’s Behind the PG&E Bailout?” Nearly five years ago, ABC10 Investigative reporter Brandon Rittiman and Executive Producer Gonzalo Magaña created the reporting project, “Fire – Power – Money.” The goal was to investigate why California wildfires were getting bigger, deadlier, and more destructive. In 2018, the Camp Fire became the most destructive wildfire in U.S. history, caused by the biggest utility company in the nation, PG&E, which destroyed the town of paradise and killed 85 people. Today, the utility company has 91 felony convictions on record. The disasters caused by PG&E have killed 142 people and have displaced over 70 thousand people. After several years of reporting, the ABC10 Originals team comprised of Brandon Rittiman, Gonzalo Magaña, Tyler Horst, Rory Ward, Mike Bunnell and Sabrina Sanchez have uncovered evidence of how the Newsom administration and state leaders have protected PG&E despite their repeated convictions, adding to an ongoing safety crisis and prioritizing profits over the fire victims.
- KUSA (Denver, CO): News Documentary, Large Market Television, for “BURNED: Six Hours in December.” Launched days after the Marshall Fire burned more than a thousand homes and killed two in Colorado’s Boulder County, the “BURNED” project sought to better understand how a small and seemingly inconsequential fire exploded into a monster on the second-to-last day of 2021. 9News ORIGINALS team members Chris Vanderveen and Chris Hansen, in this half-hour documentary, provide a minute-by-minute and location-by-location examination of the state’s worst wildfire.
- KUSA (Denver, CO): Digital, Large Market Television, for “BURNED: The Story Behind the Marshall Fire.” As the Marshall Fire raced into suburban Boulder County neighborhoods in late 2021, it burned in front of hundreds of cell phones, law enforcement body cameras and home security cameras. It all turned Colorado’s most destructive natural disaster into its most documented as well. Using clues buried within nearly a thousand clips, 9News ORIGINALS team members Chris Hansen and Chris Vanderveen helped build an immersive website now devoted to helping users see just how quickly a natural disaster can unfold.
- WTIC (Hartford, CT): Excellence in Writing, Large Market Television, for journalist Jim Altman. An eight-time Regional Murrow Award winner for news writing and a 49-time Emmy® Award winner, Altman’s keen eye for a good story, an interesting character, and just the right word is evident in stories like a feature on a 90-year-old blind golfer, a local photographer and an inspirational story of a child battling a rare bone cancer.
- WTOL (Toledo, OH): Investigative Reporting, Small Market Television, for “The Dark Side of Cedar Point.” 11 Investigates shared the stories of dozens of women who were allegedly sexual assaulted in the employee dorms at Cedar Point amusement park. Victims claimed that Cedar Point management discouraged employees from reporting allegations.When the Cedar Point police department refused to turn over additional reports, WTOL and sister stations WKYC and WBNS sued the parent company, Cedar Fair, in the Ohio Supreme Court. The park then turned over additional documents, and the lawsuit is still pending in court. About a month after the first stories aired, the city of Sandusky stripped policing power from the park’s police department. All sexual assault allegations will now be exclusively investigated by the Sandusky Police Department, ensuring public records are available to the media.
- WXIA (Atlanta, GA): Hard News, Large Market Television, for “Frankensteined.” 11Alive’s investigative team of Kristin Crowley, Luke Carter and Erin Peterson uncoveredfaulty guardrails on Georgia’s roads that can be deadly on impact. Their story prompted a statewide audit to assess the safety of guardrails and replace dangerous devices to help save lives.
For 2023, TEGNA stations were also honored with 84 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. KARE in Minneapolis received 12 individual awards, the most given in 2023 and the most in their history, three stations received the overall excellence honor and six stations received excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion, more than any other station group.
About TEGNA
TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. With 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets, TEGNA is the largest owner of top 4 network affiliates in the top 25 markets among independent station groups, reaching approximately 39 percent of all television households nationwide. TEGNA also owns leading multicast networks True Crime Network, Twist and Quest. TEGNA offers innovative solutions to help businesses reach consumers across television, digital and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including Premion, TEGNA’s OTT advertising service. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.
For media inquiries, contact:
Anne Bentley
Vice President, Corporate Communications
703-873-6366
abentley@TEGNA.com
For investor inquiries, contact:
Julie Heskett
Senior Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis
703-873-6747
investorrelations@TEGNA.com