Nebraska Public Media (nebraskapublicmedia.org) earned a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.
The awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news and are given to honor outstanding achievements in electronic journalism.
“Working Fires: Volunteer Fire Departments in Crisis” received an award for television small market in the news documentary category.
The Nebraska Public Media news documentary explores recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters in more than 450 Nebraska communities. Aging equipment, tight budgets and an increase in extreme weather create a crisis: fewer responders and increasing demand. The program can be viewed at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/workingfires.
The region includes Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. This winner will now compete for the national Murrow Awards to be announced this summer.
The Radio Television Digital News Association 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.