This week on the program, we have some good news to share with you. We recently received word that WYSO has picked up some awards for our 2024 reporting, and this weekend we’re going to revisit a few of those award-winning stories.
It’s no secret that the landscape of public media is changing. The rescinding of federal dollars to public radio stations across the country is certainly creating funding challenges for stations just like ours — but what will never change is how your support helps us provide a critical public service. So our program starts with a thank you to all who make this possible.
Now let’s get to that good news!
Each year, the Society of Professional Journalists in Ohio selects winners in a variety of categories from radio and TV broadcasting stations from around the state.
WYSO was awarded the top spot in a number of those SPJ categories including Best Documentary — A Matter of Impact: A Look Back at the Decade Since John Crawford III was Killed. Julio Mateo, with the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO worked with former WYSO editor Lewis Raven Wallace on this story that the SPJ judges called a "Beautifully produced, insightful documentary series." The documentary also picked up a 2nd place award for Best Criminal Justice Reporting.
It’s notable that WYSO also picked up the 2nd place award for Best Documentary. Neenah Ellis, Chris Welter, and Susan Byrnes with the Eichelberger Center, along with Tana Weingartner from WVXU in Cincinnati, were selected for their work on The Ohio Country.
WYSO’s Shay Frank picked up the 1st place SPJ award for Best Enterprise Reporting for her story about how Ohio's gas station boom was bringing fuel, food and sometimes controversy to local communities. Judges called it an interesting, and unique story on "an issue not covered across the Ohio media landscape."
WYSO’s Adriana Martinez-Smiley’s in-depth feature on the burning of lithium-ion batteries in Piqua and it's effect on the local community there picked up a 1st place award from SPJ for Best Investigative Reporting. SPJ judges called it "solid reporting on an subject that impacts so many of us."
WYSO also picked up several awards from Ohio Associated Press Media Editors. In fact, we received 11 finalist nods for Best Anchor, Best Breaking News Coverage, Best Coverage of a Scheduled Event, Best Digital Design Element, Best Documentary or Series, Best Enterprise Reporting and Best Streaming Content.
Our finalists in those categories were Jerry Kenney, who also won the Best Anchor award from SPJ, Kathryn Mobley, Chris Welter, Neenah Ellis, David Seitz, and former WYSO news reporter, Alejandro Figueroa.
Community Voices Producer Whitney Barkley and former news reporter Ngozi Cole were named finalists for Best Enterprise Reporting. Barkley won for the Black Americans are 2X more likely to be vegan. Are restaurants, grocery stores keeping up?
Ngozi’s report looked at why Black parents and babies are the most at risk for maternal and infant deaths. This report followed a study by Wright State researchers that found death rates in Montgomery county were among the worst in Ohio.
Producer Renee Wilde is an Ohio Associated Press finalist for Best Feature with her series, Everyday People. And the finalist for Best Sports Feature is Jerry Kenney's Why an Ohio man is pushing to get jump rope into the Olympics.
