Radio and television broadcasters serve local communities every day. Stations provide lifeline emergency information, support our military, raise millions for hospitals and cancer research, collect food, clothes and toys, devote air time to election coverage, and promote education. Submit your station's stories to Suzie Raven.
TEGNA’s NBC affiliate KUSA-TV Denver produced a multi-part series called “STRANDED,” that revealed a growing problem in the community: at-risk people with conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia are increasingly being abandoned by family and conventional nursing homes and end up spending months or years in hospital rooms. In response to the attention that KUSA-TV’s series brought to the under-reported epidemic, Governor Jared Polis signed into law a new bill on May 20 that is designed to help people who are languishing in hospitals but who don’t need critical or acute care.
Hearst’s ABC affiliate WTAE-TV Pittsburgh was awarded the Pennsylvania Associated Press Media Editors First Amendment Award for their year-long investigative efforts to uncover the secretive bid process involved in attempts to lure Amazon’s headquarters with over $2 billion in tax incentives. Their ongoing series, titled “Pittsburgh’s Secret Amazon Bid,” was said by judges to exemplify the spirit and intent of the First Amendment and demonstrate the ability of broadcasters to overcome great obstacles to bring important stories to viewers.
Tribune’s CW affiliate WPIX-TV New York City sent Reporter Cristian Benavides and Photographer Kenneth Pelczar to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, Central America’s Northern Triangle, to report what the conditions are like in the root of America’s migrant crisis. Meeting with church officials, local leaders, displaced workers and union representatives, the team gathered information for use in WPIX’s news series titled “Trapped in the Triangle,” to help viewers understand the driving factors behind the current waves of migrants from these countries to the United States.
Hearst’s ABC affiliate WCVB-TV Boston aired a half-hour special on April 2 examining the underground world of human trafficking in Massachusetts, the dire situations that victims encounter, how local survivors escaped, and how they’re helping others.
The special brought to light the disparate treatment of those who have been trafficked and the traffickers themselves. As the women who have been prostituted are increasingly seen as powerless victims, some are still being treated like criminals by police and courts in Massachusetts. The special also explored why and how women are lured into this work and the subsequent consequences that often follow, including addiction, beatings, shame and despair.
Cox Media’s Tulsa Cluster – KRMG-AM, KWEN-FM, KRAV-FM, and KJSR-FM – and Cox Media’s FOX affiliate KOKI-TV Tulsa partnered with the American Red Cross of Oklahoma to raise money for disaster relief efforts in the wake of tornadoes and historic flooding. In addition to the broadcast campaign to encourage online donations, all stations participated in a live, 13-hour fundraiser on May 30. All funds raised will be used to help Oklahomans impacted by the recent storms.
Radio Ink published features on the roles of Zimmer Radio in Missouri and Cox Media Group in Ohio in informing their communities as they braced for devastating storms and tornadoes this May. The stories feature interviews with Zimmer Radio Missouri Operations Manager Thom Watts and Cox’s WHIO-AM/FM/TV Program Director Jeremy Ratliff that detail the stations’ preparedness and emergency procedures that allowed them to stay on the air and keep their listeners and viewers informed and safe.
