KERA won four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for reporting in 2021, including an award for excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The awards were announced Tuesday by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
KERA received awards for newscast, continuing coverage, investigative reporting, and excellence in DEI. KERA is part of the RTDNA region that covers Texas and Oklahoma. Winners in the 12 regions automatically qualify for the national Murrow competition this fall.
KERA’s regional awards from this round will move into the national competition:
- Continuing Coverage - Winter Storm Coverage
- Newscast - Winter Storm
- Investigative Reporting - Padua Project Series (Anti-Poverty Program)
- Excellence in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) -
Asian American Communities
Additionally, the Texas Newsroom, the collaborative public radio journalism project with NPR that expands coverage of statewide issues and boosts reporting from underserved regions, earned 15 out of 16 categories for regional Murrow awards in region 6, which includes Texas and Oklahoma.
Other NPR-partnered stations – Austin's KUT News, San Antonio’s Texas Public Radio and the Texas Standard also earned several Murrow awards.
Austin’s KUT News won five awards for:
- Excellence in Sound - During the Winter Storm, the Austin Aquarium Went Dark and Cold. The Otters Snuggled for Warmth
- Excellence in Writing & Feature Reporting - Who Is Buried in This Cemetery on 51st Street in Austin?
- Hard News - Texas’ Power Grid was 4 Minutes And 37 Seconds Away from Collapsing. Here’s How it Happened
San Antonio’s Texas Public Radio was recognized with a regional Murrow award in the Overall Excellence category.
Two Texas Newsroom stations won regional Murrow award for their cross-state collaborative reporting:
- Sports Reporting - How San Antonio Got Passed Over by Major League Soccer for Austin (Texas Public Radio in collaboration with the Texas Standard)
- News Series - Fire Triangle (Texas Public Radio in collaboration with Houston Public Media)
“Texas Standard” earned awards in three categories:
- News Documentary - “The Long Haul: Texas and The Pandemic”
- Excellence in Innovation - Vaccinating Texas: A Tracking Project,
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