(CLOVIS, CA) - The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has recognized KVPR, in association with NPR, for the second time with one of the highest honors in American broadcasting, the 2024 National Edward R. Murrow Award.
This year’s honor is for a piece by KVPR reporter Joshua Yeager, who took listeners on a wild whitewater rafting trip along California’s Kern River amid 2023’s record rain and snowfall. The piece won honors in the category of best Sports Reporting by a radio network. KVPR received the honor in association with NPR, which also aired Yeager’s piece nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Yeager’s report places listeners front and center in a raft on the snowmelt-swollen Kern River in spring 2023. As the rapids pound the small raft, Yeager skillfully connects the exhilaration of the experience with the larger story – California’s water whiplash caused by drought and amplified by climate change.
“I’m honored to bring recognition to our station and region with this national Murrow award,” said Yeager. “Bringing my recorder and microphone onto a raft and riding the rapids was a thrill that I hope transported listeners, as we experienced one of the most intense water years in recorded history.”
“While that glut of water brought a lot of damage and heartbreak to the San Joaquin Valley, as reporters we should also seek out and highlight moments of joy where we can find them. This story was a joy to produce — and I’m happy to report my audio equipment survived the whitewater,” said Yeager.
Yeager is KVPR’s Kern County reporter and is a Report for America corps member. While at KVPR, he’s covered issues from politics to government, to wildfire, and California’s oil and gas industry. He grew up in Tulare County, and before joining KVPR in 2022, he was a reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta.
The award is the second National Edward R. Murrow Award in KVPR’s history. The other came in 2022 in the category of Investigative Reporting for a piece by reporter Soreath Hok on the massive loss in learning that took place during distance learning classes at the height of the pandemic.
“This Murrow award was a completely unexpected surprise,” said KVPR News Director Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado. But KVPR is proud to be named as a national Murrow winner, and to be the only newsroom in the Valley to have won an honor this year.”
“The reporting that this award highlights shows the dynamic region in which we live, and it demonstrates how KVPR strives to inform listeners and readers about all aspects of this region. The reporting truly tries to bring listeners to places they don't know and bring them voices they can appreciate.”
The award was one of eight won this year by NPR. KVPR was the only station honored in the radio network category this year. Per the rules of the competition, KVPR’s entry was submitted in the network category because it was edited by NPR staff and aired nationally. Other winners in the category included CBS News Radio, CBC/Radio-Canada, and ABC News. Other NPR affiliates across the country won a total of 23 awards in this year’s competition.
“Edward R. Murrow was an icon of both radio and television. He set the standard for this medium, and it’s an incredible honor to have our work associated with his name and legacy,” said KVPR President & General Manager Joe Moore.
“This particular piece is an excellent example of the power of radio. The lack of visuals is what makes radio such an intimate and imaginative medium. Josh did an outstanding job with this piece both with his use of sound and in his writing, which matches the moment and adds to the experience,” said Moore.
“Hearing his piece, you can close your eyes and feel like you are on this raft, in the middle of the wild Kern River. It’s the kind of reporting where NPR made its signature and still does better than anyone else. We’re honored to have worked alongside NPR in producing this piece and to see it recognized at the highest levels of our industry.”
The awards will be formally presented in-person on October 14, 2024 at Gotham Hall in New York City.