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NPR, Public Media Among 2015 duPont-Columbia Award Winners

Frontline
Frontline's "Syria's Second Front" won the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

Public media programs are among the 14 winners of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards. It’s one of the most prestigious prizes in broadcast news – the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. You might have heard or seen some of these programs on KERA 90.1 FM or KERA 13.

Here’s a listing, with comments from duPont-Columbia officials:

NPR: Guilty and Charged

“NPR’s investigative series told the little-known story of the emergence of a two-tiered system of justice. … The series showed how defendants now get charged for a long list of government services that were once free, including ones that are constitutionally required, such as a public defender. The fees and costs charged to each defendant typically add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.”

Planet Money & NPR Visuals: Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt

“To explore and explain the global economics behind a simple t-shirt, Planet Money and NPR Visuals first designed and sold t-shirts to their listeners, and then followed the shirts around the world to report on how they were made.”

PBS: The African Americans -- Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr

“Noted Harvard scholar Gates recounted the full trajectory of African American history in a sweeping six-part series.”

WGBH: Frontline – Syria’s Second Front

Frontline and their correspondent, Syrian native Muhammed Ali, ventured into the northern war zone last winter to expose a pivotal moment in the raging civil war.”

WGBH: Frontline – United States of Secrets

With remarkable scope and depth, this multi-part program unfolds the dramatic inside account of how the U.S. government came to monitor and collect the communications of millions of people around the world—including ordinary Americans—and the lengths they went to hide the massive surveillance from the public.”

MPR News: Betrayed by Silence

“MPR News' yearlong investigation exposed how leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis continued to cover up abuse of children by priests, despite decades of assurances that the Catholic Church was safe.”

Other winners

From a duPont press release:

Investigative journalism will win seven awards spread across network television, radio, online and at the local level, most often in overlapping platforms. Four awards will go to local television news investigations, including reporting by KPNX 12 News, Phoenix; WFTS-TV, Tampa; WLTX-TV, Columbia; and WTSP 10 News, Tampa Bay. … Innovative interactive digital entries from NPR and The Seattle Times will each receive an award. CNN’s “WEED: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports,” will also be awarded a duPont. Two feature-length documentaries will be honored with a duPont Award, including the first win for the Internet streaming service Netflix.

Learn about the rest of the winners.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.