WDET-FM 101.9 – Detroit’s NPR station is celebrating a milestone honor bestowed upon the radio station by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) — the National Edward R. Murrow Award Excellence in Innovation. The station was recognized along with Documenting Detroit for its recent project, “COVID Diaries: Stories of Resilience.”
The RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of electronic journalism.
Created in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, WDET’s COVID Diaries brought together the audio and photo diaries of five photographers and one spoken word artist as they navigated the challenges of life during COVID-19. The celebrated team includes Courtney Wise Randolph as narrator, photographers Rachel Elise Thomas, Amy Sacka, Erik Paul Howard, Darryl DeAngelo Terrell and Rosa María Zamarrón; with editors David Leins, Karah Schaffer, Shiraz Ahmed and Meta Stange. To see and hear all 10 weeks of the COVID Diaries, visit wdet.org/diaries.
“We share this honor with all of the artists who put their heart and soul into the project during a very challenging time,” said Mary Zatina, WDET General Manager. “Their chronicles helped many listeners put into words and images the challenges many of us felt. They helped listeners articulate the challenges people were struggling with in this new pandemic climate.”
WDET News Director Jerome Vaughn and project manager David Leins accepted the award on behalf of the station at a gala event at Gotham Hall in New York City earlier this month.
“We are all very proud of this honor,” said Vaughn. “This is a pinnacle of recognition in our field. This award is shared by everyone at the station and WDET will continue putting its connection to the community at the core of its operations.”
For more information, contact Jerome Vaughn for WDET at 313-577-4146.
About WDET
WDET is Detroit’s NPR station and a community service of Wayne State University. From in-depth community reporting to national news coverage from NPR, WDET is a reliable source for credible information and news. Its mix of local and national programming is produced by award-winning journalists who highlight diverse perspectives and invite local voices into the conversations. WDET’s mission is to be an authentic voice of Detroit.
About Documenting Detroit
Documenting Detroit is a program of Facing Change: Documenting America and is a community photojournalism initiative creating a documentary record of Detroit by Detroit-area photographers.