UM-Based Broadcasters Rake in Awards
MISSOULA – Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS staff members received honors from the E.B. Craney Awards and Public Radio Journalists Association for their outstanding work during the past year.
E.B. Craney Award winners included MTPR’s Flathead reporter Aaron Bolton, who was honored with the Radio News Story of the Year Award.
The award for Best Podcast went to Shared State, a joint effort of MTPR, Yellowstone Public Radio and the Montana Free Press. The Shared State team was led by Mara Silvers, Nick Mott, and MTPR news director Corin-Cates Carney.
The Noncommercial Radio Program of the Year award went to the team of the MTPR children’s program “Pea Green Boat” for its live radio event at the Missoula Public Library. Led by producer Jake Birch and host Vicky Chaney, the program featured live music, a kid reporter, children’s stories and a radio play.
Montana PBS producer Breanna McCabe received two E.B. Craney Awards for her smokejumper documentary “Higgins Ridge.” McCabe earned honors for Television Writing-News and Long Form, as well as for Television Noncommercial Program of the Year. Anna Rau and her program “Rise of the Freemen” took home runner-up for Television Noncommercial Program of the Year.
Carney also received a second-place nod in the Interview Category from the national PRJA. His interview with one of the organizers of the Helena Youth Against Gun Violence captured the award.
“We’re proud that our staff’s hard work is being rewarded and recognized,” said MTPR General Manager Ray Ekness. “We’re thankful for the outstanding support of our listeners that make these programs and stories possible.”
Presented by the Montana Broadcasters Association, the E.B. Craney Awards are named in memory of Montana broadcast pioneer Ed Craney and recognize excellence in local news, production, promotion and public service. These awards are sponsored through the generosity of the Greater Montana Foundation (www.greatermontana.org). The awards were established to encourage communication, with an emphasis on electronic media and issues and trends of importance to Montanans.
The awards were presented June 24 during the Montana Broadcasters Association convention in Billings.
Each year, the Public Media Journalists Association 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. The full list of winners is available online at 2023 Award Winners-Public Media Journalists Association (pmja.org)
Montana Public Radio is a public service of the University of Montana and broadcasts on 89.1 Missoula (KUFM); 91.5 Missoula, city (K218AI); 91.9 Hamilton (KUFN); 89.5 Polson (KPJH); 90.1 Kalispell, Whitefish, North Valley (KUKL); 90.5 Libby (KUFL); 91.7 Kalispell, city (K219BN); 101.3 Swan Lake (K267BJ); 91.3 Butte (KAPC); 91.7 Helena (KUHM); 90.9 and 91.7 Dillon (KDWG and KUMW); 88.1 Thompson Falls (KFTZ); 89.7 Eureka (KEUK); and 89.9 Great Falls (KGPR). Learn more at http://mtpr.org.
Montana PBS (KUFM-TV in Missoula, KUSM-TV in Bozeman, KUKL-TV in Kalispell, KBGS-TV in Billings, KUGF-TV in Great Falls and KUHM-TV in Helena) is a service of UM and Montana State University. For more information, visit http://www.montanapbs.org.
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Contact: Ray Ekness, Broadcast Media Center director and Montana Public Radio general manager, 406-243-4154, ray.ekness@umontana.edu.