Each year, PMJA recognizes the best of local public radio news in a wide array of categories. The award winners are celebrated at the PMJA awards banquet during the annual conference.
Please congratulate our 2023 winners!
Arts Feature
Division AA
First Place - Wisconsin Public Radio - “Madison musician connects with his heritage and father by archiving Ho-Chunk recordings”
Second Place - KJZZ 91.5 FM - “Asylum seekers turn to traditional arts to ease the strain of long waits at the border”
Division A
First Place - KALW - “How a couple saved 'Star Trek' while living in Oakland”
Second Place - KNKX - “Tacoma musician Shaina Shepherd embraces her solo act”
Division B
First Place - North Country Public Radio - “Art exhibit in Canton carves new space for Black women printmakers”
Second Place - North Country Public Radio - “Organist plans to woo listeners in Elizabethtown this weekend”
Division C
First Place - WEKU Radio - “School of Needlework for Disobedient Women”
Second Place - WBGO - “Guitarist Stefan Grossman carries on the fingerpicking-style legacy of his teacher Reverend Gary Davis”
Audience Engagement Program
Division AA
First Place - Minnesota Public Radio - “Coping with prolonged grief over George Floyd, mass shootings and the pandemic”
Second Place - WAMU - “Kojo In Our Community: Montgomery County Officials, Advocates, And Residents On Housing Issues”
Division A
First Place - Alaska Public Media - “Talk of Alaska: Decolonizing Native Education”
Second Place - WXXI AM - “Connections: Local parents react to the mass shooting in Texas”
Division B
First Place - KMUW - “Engage ICT with 1A Remaking America: Sorting out Facts, Truth, and Opinion”
Second Place - Illinois Public Media - “Debate over sex ed in Illinois public schools”
Division C
First Place - WMUK-FM - “Why's That”
Audio Scripting
Division AA
First Place - WLRN News - “An ode to the only fishing pier of Miami”
Second Place - KUT 90.5 FM - “The City of Austin has a dilemma: What to do with 32 fighting”
Division A
First Place - New Hampshire Public Radio - “When rents at 5 Chapel St. went up, the tenants tried to fight back”
Second Place - WFDD - “Why were plants like Winston Weaver allowed in neighborhoods?”
Division B
First Place - WCAI - “Threatened toads defy odds, appear to make a comeback in Falmouth”
Second Place - KNAU - Arizona Public Radio - “The inevitable next time: Flagstaff residents grapple with the new reality of wildfire and flood”
Division C
First Place - KAZU - “The Santa Cruz corpse flower…resurrected!”
Second Place - High Plains Public Radio - “Even competitive hunting can't stop coyotes from thriving in Kansas”
Breaking News
Division AA
First Place - St. Louis Public Radio - “STLPR - CVPA Shooting Breaking News”
Second Place - KERA - 90.1 Dallas - “The Aaron Dean Verdict”
Division A
First Place - WFDD - “Winston Weaver Fire”
Division B
First Place - WCAI - “Migrants landed unannounced on Martha's Vineyard; island mobilizes to help as a national story grows”
Second Place - KMUW - “Derby residents pack school board meeting to support principal's lesson on 'white privilege'”
Division C
First Place - Jefferson Public Radio - “Mill Fire in Siskiyou County tests communities battered by wildfires”
Collaborative Effort
Division AA
First Place - The California Newsroom - “Election 2022”
Second Place - WHYY - FM - “Stop and Frisk: Revisit or Resist - A Collaboration with Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting”
Division B
First Place - Interlochen Public Radio - “Kids in Crisis”
Commentary
Division AA
First Place - Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ - “When I'm not reporting, the fear creeps in”
Second Place - Texas Public Radio - KSTX - “We were all damaged by Uvalde”
Division A
First Place - New England Public Media - “'We are clerks; we make it work': The increasingly stressful duties of local election officials”
Second Place - The Public's Radio - “Memories of abuelita”
Division B
First Place - WNIJ - “Racial Groundhog's Day”
Second Place - WCAI - “Gay and proud”
Division C
First Place – Tri States Public Radio - “Justice Alito's startling statement”
Second Place - Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI - “What I Learned From Alice”
Continuing Coverage
Division AA
First Place - Michigan Radio - “Abortion rights on Michigan ballot”
Second Place - KJZZ 91.5 FM - “Title 42 leaves asylum seekers in limbo at the U.S.-Mexico border”
Division A
First Place - WFDD - “Winston Weaver Fire”
Second Place - KUNC - “Coverage of water issues in the West”
Division B
First Place - North Country Public Radio - “Housing Crisis in the North Country”
Second Place - WCAI - “Proposed discharge of one million gallons of radioactive water galvanizes community opposition”
Division C
First Place - KLCC - “Oregon's Congressional District 4 race”
Second Place - Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI - “MMIW Awareness”
Digital Writing
Division AA
First Place - KUOW-FM - “A man dies of an overdose. Then chaos ensues at his swank Seattle apartment building”
Second Place - KCFR - Colorado Public Radio - “'Ghost guns,' violent threats and dodged subpoenas: Why an earlier case against the alleged Club Q shooter failed”
Division A
First Place - The Public's Radio - “Chasing the Fix: When sobriety is not enough”
Second Place - West Virginia Public Broadcasting - “Country Ham Caprese And Cheesy Eggrolls: Virginia Barbecue Restaurant Serves Up Community-Inspired Dishes”
Division B
First Place - KMUW - “A Kansas program aims to reward good nursing home care, but critics say poor oversight remains”
Second Place - WGLT - FM - “No, the expiring Uptown TIF and Rivian tax breaks won't solve Unit 5's financial problems”
Division C
First Place - Jefferson Public Radio - “Bringing back the beavers”
Enterprise
Division AA
First Place - Michigan Radio - “Nine days in a Michigan abortion clinic, as election looms”
Second Place - WAMU - “Traffic violence changed their lives. They hope drivers heed their warnings”
Division A
First Place - The Public's Radio - “Chasing the fix: addiction and homelessness”
Second Place - VPM - “Another Way: How one Virginia city reckons with gun violence”
Division B
First Place - WBHM - FM - “Teens say Birmingham's gun violence takes a heavy toll”
Second Place - South Carolina Public Radio - “diSConnected: 'I am because you are.' Ubuntu, deep listening, and connection Upstate”
Division C
First Place - High Plains Public Radio - “Parched: How water - and a lack of it - shapes life in western Kansas”
Second Place - WUFT FM - “How a Black marching band style was erased from Gainesville's fields, and why it matters decades later”
Feature
Division AA
First Place - KUT 90.5 FM - “So the $35 sculpture you got at an Austin Goodwill was looted from a museum during WWII. Now what?”
Second Place - KJZZ 91.5 FM - “Hundreds of feet in the air, Sonoran highliners face fears and find balance”
Division A
First Place - New England Public Media - “Some mental health advocates in Massachusetts want a new name for schizophrenia”
Second Place - WGCU - “Ian savages trailer park hit by tornado in January; leaves unexpected freedom for resident”
Division B
First Place - WCAI - “'Old Ladies' dive into Cape ponds seeking trash, emerge triumphant”
Second Place - WVTF Public Radio - “Final Exam with a Beat”
Division C
First Place - Jefferson Public Radio - “Archeologists use canine forensics to find cremated remains after wildfire”
Second Place - WUKY - “Everyday Heroes of Eastern Kentucky”
Features produced by freelancers
Freelance Reporters
First Place - Susan Valot - “Sick, injured pelicans swamp SoCal local bird rescues”
Interview
Division AA
First Place - Minnesota Public Radio - “Remembering the I-35 bridge collapse: a survivor story”
Second Place - Iowa Public Radio - “A frank conversation about preventing youth suicide”
Division A
First Place - WVXU - “Ohio org is No. 2 in Native American artifacts required to be returned by federal law. What's being done?”
Second Place - Arizona Public Media - “The Buzz takes a trip down the Verde River”
Division B
First Place - WBHM - FM - “Interview with U.S. Senate candidate Mo Brooks”
Second Place - KUFM - Montana Public Radio - “'The kids are not alright'”
Division C
First Place - WPSU - FM - “Take Note: Amie Bantz on her "Lunchbox Moments" art exhibit aimed at anti-Asian hate”
Second Place - Jefferson Public Radio - “'Cheerleading for a broken system': fire exclusion in the Klamath National Forest”
Interview Podcast
Division AA
First Place - Capital Public Radio - “A Music of Their Own”
Second Place - WFAE - “SouthBound”
Division A
First Place - Arizona Public Media - “The Buzz: UA students talk about the events leading to their professor's death”
Division B
First Place - KBIA - FM - “Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan”
Second Place - KBIA - FM - “High Turnout, Wide Margins”
Division C
First Place - WBGO - “SportsJam with Doug Doyle: Legendary Telemundo Broadcaster Andrés Cantor can't wait for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022”
Second Place - Utah Public Radio - “Women's Equality in Utah: Why Utah Is Ranked as the Worst State, and What Can Be Done”
Investigative Reporting
Division AA
First Place - WBUR - “Secrecy law in Massachusetts”
Second Place - KCUR - “Who are the murdered Black women connected to KCKPD detective Roger Golubski?”
Division A
First Place - Alaska Public Media - “Anchorage Health Department director resigns amid investigation into fabricated resume”
Second Place - KUNC - “Wrongful deaths to false arrests: Northern Colorado cities pay cash to end allegations against police”
Division B
First Place - North Country Public Radio - “Rep. Elise Stefanik”
Second Place - KMUW - “A Kansas program aims to reward good nursing home care, but critics say poor oversight remains”
Division C
First Place - KLCC - “Months after its closure, a cloud still hangs over J.H. Baxter's Eugene plant”
Second Place - Spokane Public Radio - “Despite county commission rebuff, Spokane County GOP pushes for investigation of vote-tabulating machines”
Long Documentary
Division AA
First Place - Texas Standard - “Uvalde: What's Next?”
Second Place - KCUR - “Parade Park offered Black Kansas City families a chance for home ownership. Now it's crumbling”
Division A
First Place - West Virginia Public Broadcasting - “Us & Them: The Gun Divide”
Second Place - New Hampshire Public Radio - “Outside/In: After the avalanche”
Division B
First Place - Wyoming Public Radio - “Cows=Civilization”
Second Place - WAER - “Syracuse Speaks-Central New York's Fresh Water”
Division C
First Place - Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI - “MMIW Awareness”
Second Place - KAWC - “On Topic: Title 42 in Yuma - A KAWC News Special Report”
Multi-Media Presentation
Division AA
First Place - Indiana Public Broadcasting - “Climate Questions”
Second Place - WBUR - “Cooked: the search for sustainable eats”
Division A
First Place - The Public's Radio - “2022 ELECTIONS”
Second Place - WUWM - “Voter Guide”
Division B
First Place - Illinois Public Media - “State of Change”
Second Place - Boise State Public Radio KBSX - “Overturning Roe v. Wade would cap a 50-year effort to criminalize abortion in Idaho”
Narrative/Produced Podcast
Division AA
First Place - KCUR - “Overlooked: an investigative podcast about decades of trauma one Black community suffered under a corrupt police department”
Second Place - KUT 90.5 FM - “The Disconnect: The Midnight Connection”
Division A
First Place - KNKX - “The Walk Home”
Second Place - New Hampshire Public Radio - “Outside/In”
Division B
First Place - Boise State Public Radio KBSX - “Women's Work: Whose Land? Episode”
Second Place - WNIJ - “Good Curling!”
Division C
First Place - WKMS - “The Story of Tanasi, Part 1: Birth of a River”
Second Place - WUFT FM - “Decolonizing the Curriculum, Episode 3: The changing landscape of K-12 and higher education in Florida”
Independent Division
First Place - Before Me - “Before Me: A Refugee's Story Told From Mother to Daughter”
Second Place - Making Contact - “The Agony and the Ecstasy: Race and the Future of the Love Story”
Nationally Edited Feature
All Divisions
First Place - KCUR - “Julia Lee pioneered blues 'too risque' for the radio”
Second Place - WUWM - “A traditional Hmong sport is putting down roots in the U.S.”
Nationally Edited News Coverage
All Divisions
First Place - Alaska Public Media - “Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native heading to Congress, journeys home to the river”
Second Place - Gulf States Newsroom - “A rodent infestation shut down Family Dollar stores. How one Alabama town is coping”
News Feature
Division AA
First Place - Georgia Public Broadcasting - “Lots of things drive violence in prison. Add heat to the list”
Second Place - KCUR - “A small Kansas community college finds itself in the spotlight amid allegations of racial animosity”
Division A
First Place - WXXI AM - “Rochester kids are living in the middle of serious violence. One afterschool program tries to help.”
Second Place - Arizona Public Media - “100 Days after Roe: Patients and providers prepare for an Arizona without abortions”
Division B
First Place - KRCC - “Ever wonder what all those numbers mean on your property tax bill? Take a tour of a bill with a Pueblo homeowner and find out.”
Second Place - North Country Public Radio - “The largest class of NY Forest Rangers graduated. Diversity is a work in progress”
Division C
First Place - WUFT FM - “Sunken Homes”
Second Place - KAZU - “California's fight against climate change gets a little messy”
News/Public Affairs Program
Division AA
First Place - Michigan Radio - “Stateside: Oxford, one year later”
Second Place - KCFR - Colorado Public Radio - “A road trip across Colorado's new congressional district”
Division A
First Place - West Virginia Public Broadcasting - “Floyd's Friday Jamboree, Flooding And Fracking Fluid Inside Appalachia”
Second Place - WXXI AM - “Connections: Afghan refugees on one year since the fall of Kabul”
Division B
First Place - Boise State Public Radio KBSX - “What does the Roe v. Wade reversal mean for Idaho?”
Second Place - KUNM FM - “Study finds mushrooms combined with therapy can curb heavy drinking”
Division C
First Place - WBGO - “WBGO Journal: Midterm Elections and More”
Second Place - KAWC - “Arizona Edition: Aide Group Collects Belongings and Stories on U.S-Mexico Border”
Newscast
Division AA
First Place - Texas Public Radio - KSTX - “TPR Morning Edition Newscast: May 25, 2022”
Second Place - WNPR - Connecticut Public Radio - “Connecticut Public Radio's Morning Edition 8 a.m. Nov. 14 newscast with Lori Mack”
Division A
First Place - KNKX - “KNKX's Morning Edition news with Kirsten Kendrick”
Second Place - WVXU - “WVXU”
Division B
First Place - WVTF Public Radio - “WVTF/Radio IQ 6:30 pm Newscast”
Second Place - WGLT - FM - “Feb 24 5:04 p.m. news”
Division C
First Place - WUKY - “Newscast”
Second Place - WFUV - “The 'What's What' On-Air Newscast - Aug 2, 2022”
Photojournalism
Division AA
First Place - WAMU - “'Twon Was One Of Us:' Dozens Gather To Remember Antione Manning, 14-Year-Old Killed On Halloween”
Second Place - KUT 90.5 FM - “Praying over Felicha”
Division A
First Place - WXXI AM - “Funeral of slain Rochester Police officer”
Division B
First Place - WGLT - FM - “Uptown Normal Leah Marlene”
Second Place - WNIJ - “More than a Game”
Division C
First Place - Tri States Public Radio - “Celebrating C.T. Vivian”
Second Place - Tri States Public Radio - “A Mural is Better Than a Brick Wall”
Series
Division AA
First Place - WBUR - “The cost of child care”
Second Place - Vermont Public Radio - “What class are you?”
Division A
First Place - KUNC - “From The Ashes: For fire survivors who lost everything, salvaged keepsakes are a link to the past”
Second Place - WXXI AM - “The Road to Inclusion”
Division B
First Place - North Country Public Radio - “A Place To Call Home”
Second Place - Interlochen Public Radio - “Points North: [Un]Natural Selection”
Division C
First Place - WKNO - FM - “Civil Wrongs: A Lynching in Memphis”
Second Place - WMUK-FM - “"Why's That?" presents a three-part series on forced removal in Southwest Michigan”
Short Documentary
Division AA
First Place - KUOW-FM - “Pirates, gentrification, and the future of living aboard on Puget Sound”
Second Place - Texas Public Radio - KSTX - “Justice Ignored”
Division A
First Place - New Hampshire Public Radio - “Outside/In: Lawn and Order”
Second Place - The Public's Radio - “The Secret of Chiqui Versace”
Division B
First Place - Interlochen Public Radio - “The Trail Less Traveled”
Second Place - WAER - “City Limits-A Working Dilemma: It's summertime, but the hiring isn't easy”
Division C
First Place - WUFT FM - “Surviving Ian”
Second Place - WCBU - “For Peoria women whose children were murdered, Mother's Day is anything but joyful”
SPECIAL FEATURE CATEGORY: Underrepresented Communities
Division AA
First Place - WAMU - “'My kids are in pain now and need relief now': how local families cope with sickle cell disease”
Second Place - WBUR - “Wheelchairs repairs can take a month, or longer, leaving people stranded”
Division A
First Place - New England Public Media - “Issues of tribal membership and curator experience in complaint over Springfield museum exhibit”
Second Place - KALW - “The district shut this school down, but the community is keeping it open anyway”
Division B
First Place - WBHM - FM - “The story of 'the Colony': How a small, Black community thrived, survived in Cullman County”
Second Place - North Country Public Radio - “Dairy worker housing goes uninspected. The result is horrific conditions on some farms”
Division C
First Place - WKNO - FM - “Civil Wrongs: A Lynching in Memphis”
Second Place - Blue Ridge Public Radio - “We cannot stay silent: Qualla Boundary organizers hope momentum from 3rd annual MMIW march will continue”
Sports Feature
Division AA
First Place - Vermont Public Radio - “How an annual soccer tournament brings together Vermont's farmworker community”
Second Place - KJZZ 91.5 FM - “In a Sonoran mining town, the pins have been falling in historic bowling alley for nearly a century”
Division A
First Place - WDET - Detroit Public Radio - “Last Checkered Flag Waves on Belle Isle”
Division B
First Place - North Country Public Radio - “What's next for Olympians? A biathlete from the Adirondacks says mental health is key”
Second Place - WVTF Public Radio - “Poolside Math”
Division C
First Place - High Plains Public Radio - “Even competitive hunting can't stop coyotes from thriving in Kansas”
Second Place - WEKU Radio - “Ax throwing as a stress reliever”
Spot News
Division AA
First Place - WLRN News - “South Florida's Argentina fans spill into the streets to cheer first World Cup win in decades”
Second Place - Vermont Public Radio - “Friends mourn Fern Feather, lover of plants and birds, after killing in Morristown”
Division A
First Place - KUER - “After a hard year, Salt Lake's Jewish community hopes to forge new holiday traditions”
Second Place - WVXU - “Work begins to find those buried at West Price Hill's Potter's Field”
Division B
First Place - WCAI - “Migrant group sheltering on Martha's Vineyard moves to Joint Base Cape Cod”
Second Place - KUNM FM - “SUV drives into Indigenous parade in Gallup, injuring 15”
Division C
First Place - KLCC - “Prickly confrontations happen outside Eugene pub, but drag queen story time event goes on without a hitch”
Second Place - Northeast Indiana Public Radio - “Harrison Hill Elementary students compete in annual 'Gobble Off'”
Student Feature
Student Division
First Place - KUT 90.5 FM - “The definition of drag has expanded – and so has the demand for performances”
Second Place - Illinois Public Media - “Students say Champaign schools fail to provide menstrual products”
Student Interview Podcast
Student Division
First Place - WUFT FM - “The Rewind From WUFT”
Second Place - C895/KNHC Public Radio - “Coping 101 - Socially Just Family Therapy”
Student Multi-Media Presentation
Student Division
First Place - WUSF - “CROWN Act would ban hair texture discrimination in the U.S. These women say it's long overdue”
Second Place - WUFT FM - “A living history: Reenactor fills the gap of Black Seminole legacy in Florida”
Student Narrative/Produced Podcast
Student Division
First Place - Vermont Public Radio - “Why doesn't Vermont have freestanding birth centers?”
Second Place - KALW - “tbh: The Dirty Truth About the Clean Girl Aesthetic”
Student News Feature
Student Division
First Place - WUFT FM - “Sunken Homes”
Second Place - KUOW RadioActive Youth Media - “My high school doesn't serve halal meat. Here's why I wish it did”
Student Newscast
Student Division
First Place - WUFT FM - “The Point Newscast 11-29-2022”
Second Place - KACU - “KACU news”
Student Spot News
Student Division
First Place - WKMS - “Western Kentucky non-profit teaches inclusion and real-life skills with tabletop games”
Use of Sound
Division AA
First Place - Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ - “Sonic Ofrenda”
Second Place - KJZZ 91.5 FM - “Hundreds of feet in the air, Sonoran highliners face fears and find balance”
Division A
First Place - WXXI AM - “Childhood dreams come to life in Brighton's 'Halloween House'”
Second Place - Nebraska Public Media - “A Major Loss: Family Visits Home Destroyed in Carter Canyon Fire”
Division B
First Place - Interlochen Public Radio - “Thin As a Rail”
Second Place - WCAI - “Big guns: A machine gun range in Vermont shows what might be coming for Cape Cod”
Division C
First Place - High Plains Public Radio - “Even competitive hunting can't stop coyotes from thriving in Kansas”
Second Place - WHRO - “Audio postcard: Peach picking in Virginia Beach”