Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, parent organization of 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR news station, is proud to announce that the WESA Newsroom and its reporters have been honored with a 2023 Edward R. Murrow Regional Award for excellence in journalism.
The Regional Murrow Awards, announced on May 22 by the Radio Television Digital News Association, are among the most prestigious in the field of audiovisual and digital information.
WESA’s work is judged in the large-market category in a region that includes Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, and it competes with much larger stations in those states.
The Regional Murrow Awards recognized WESA in the Digital News category for “WESA Voting Matters,” its ongoing initiative to provide nonpartisan, independent election journalism for Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Historically, turnout in midterm elections has been lower than in presidential elections, even though midterm results are critical to the future of our region, our state, and our country.
This knowledge prompted WESA to launch “Voting Matters” in 2022 to ensure eligible voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania show up in November’s midterm elections ready to make choices aimed at creating the future they envision for their families and communities.
The newsroom-wide project included extensive digital and audiovisual coverage of local, regional, state and national races in the primary and general elections. It also featured WESA’s exclusive Voter’s Guide and its exclusive weekly newsletter ‘WESA Politics’, as well as detailed candidate profiles and reviews of key issues ranging from public policy platforms to election integrity.
“I am especially grateful for this recognition by the RTDNA, as it recognizes and honors the work of each member of our newsroom and their contributions to a critical effort to support democracy,” said Cindi Lash, Vice President, News for PCBC.
“This Regional Murrow Award is especially meaningful at a time when delivering credible and trustworthy journalism to the communities we serve has never been more important,” she said.
Regional Murrow Award winners will advance this summer to the national round of the competition, which includes the best broadcast journalism from across the United States.
WESA “Voting Matters” is funded in part by a generous grant from The Heinz Endowments, as well as support from Susan Downs Pettigrew and Terrell Jefferson, Gwen Hepler in memory of her husband Dan Hepler, Rick and Bonnie of Mount Lebanon, and two anonymous donors.
Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Awards:
The announcement of WESA’s 2023 Murrow Regional Award follows the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters’ presentation of a Broadcast Excellence Award to WESA Health and Science Editor Sarah Boden on May 5.
The PAB honored Boden in the category “Outstanding Reporting/Reporting/Radio Series” for “The Cost of Forgetting: Dementia’s Tax on Financial Health”. In this year-long series, Boden explored how Pennsylvanians with dementia and their families handle financial decision-making.
