The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has awarded Valley Public Radio with three 2021 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Excellence in Writing, News Documentary, and Feature Reporting.
It is the third year in a row that Valley Public Radio has received Regional Murrow Award honors. The awards are presented to small and large radio, television and digital outlets based on 14 geographic regions. The station entries, which were among small market radio stations in California, Hawaii and Nevada, now advance to the national Murrow Award competition.
Reporter Kerry Klein’s piece 'Eureka Moment' In Valley Fever Case Paves Way For New Research, Treatment Options won in two categories: News Documentary and Excellence in Writing. These are the third and fourth Regional Murrow Awards Klein has won in the past three years.
‘Eureka Moment’ tells the story of 4-year-old Abraham Gonzalez-Martinez. In 2018, he arrived at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital so ill with valley fever he had lumps on his head where the fungus was burrowing into his skull. His body wouldn’t respond to normal antifungal medications, so doctors spent 11 months treating him with precision medicine. The story chronicles the long process of solving Abraham’s medical mystery, and explains why the lessons learned from his case are valuable to the field of valley fever research.
"Everyone I interviewed for this story had this palpable excitement whenever they talked about Abraham and what his case meant to them,” said Klein. “I’m glad that excitement is resonating with our audience and other journalists, too."
KVPR News Director Alice Daniel said she was extremely proud of Klein’s persistence in reporting this story. “It took an incredible amount of determination and hard work to report this story and Kerry did it in a respectful and empathic manner. I feel fortunate I was able to work with her as her editor because I saw the effort it took to put it all together. And to win two regional awards for the same story is an incredible honor.”
Alice Daniel also won a Regional Murrow Award this year for Feature Reporting for her story about a “Shark Tank” entrepreneur who pivoted to a new business when he learned the factory in China that makes his puppy pad products was now repurposing some of its equipment to make surgical masks. He reached out to friends in the healthcare industry in several places including Fresno and learned the need for PPE was vast.
“This story shows the value of ingenuity and perseverance in an incredibly difficult time, so I’m very happy it won a Regional Murrow Award, ” she said.
Valley Public Radio’s President and General Manager Joe Moore said the recognition is most deserved. “As our listeners already know, our news department produces outstanding work every day. We are incredibly proud of our team for this recognition, and even more so for all of the reporting they’ve done over the past year, covering everything from the pandemic to social unrest to wildfires. We thank the Murrow jurors for these honors, and look forward to bringing local audiences even more outstanding coverage in the months ahead,” he said.
About the RTDNA:
The RTDNA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to broadcast and digital journalism. Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, RTDNA’s mission is to promote and protect responsible journalism. RTDNA defends the First Amendment rights of electronic journalists throughout the country, honors outstanding work in the profession through the Edward R. Murrow Awards and provides members with training to encourage ethical standards, newsroom leadership and industry innovation
