So, We Picked Up Our National Murrow Awards…

West Virginia Public Broadcasting brought home two National Edward R. Murrow Awards this week for demonstrating the spirit of excellence that famed journalist Murrow set as a standard for the profession of electronic journalism.

Trey Kay, host of Us & Them, education reporter Liz McCormick and production team member Janet Kunicki picked up the awards at the ceremony in New York City Wednesday.

WVPB competes in the Small Market Radio Division, Region 8, which includes West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. The Radio Television Digital News Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. WVPB’s two national Murrow Award winners include:

News Documentary, Grandfamilies of the Opioid Crisis, by Trey Kay, host of Us & Them, with assistance from Samantha Gattsek. In this episode, we explore how chemical addictions and the opioid crisis have divided millions of U.S. families. Addicted parents can abandon responsibilities for their children, and when a grandparent steps in, it creates a new kind of family structure some call a grandfamily, a generational divide.

Excellence in Video, Despite Increasing Demand, Some W.Va. Apple Farmers Struggle, by Roxy Todd, producer of Inside Appalachia, with reporting assistance from Education reporter Liz McCormick and video production expertise from Janet Kunicki, John Hale and Daniel Walker. Inside Appalachia looks at the apple industry in West Virginia as the cider industry experiences a surge. Some people think it’s an economic development opportunity the state is overlooking.