WUNC's Military Reporter Jay Price was awarded first place for Nationally Edited Feature in Division AA. WUNC's podcasts Me & My Muslim Friends and Great Grief were honored with second place prizes for Interview Podcast and Narrative/Produced Podcast in Division AA, respectively.
Price was recognized for his piece, "Remembering Chris Goeke, A Young U.S. Army Officer Killed In Afghanistan In 2009." Price met Chris Goeke in Afghanistan in 2009. The 23-year-old was killed in battle months later. Price set out to learn more about him.
WUNC News Director Brent Wolfe said of Price's work, "This story exemplifies the best of what a reporter can do. As U.S. troops prepared to leave Afghanistan, Jay reflected on an extraordinary soldier he met there and revisited his story to illustrate the terrible cost of the war for American troops and their families."
Me & My Muslim Friends is hosted by Yasmin Bendaas. The podcast invites you to listen in as Bendaas and her friends discuss the diverse spectrum of Muslim identity, sharing thought-provoking stories, underrepresented perspectives and laughter too.
Great Grief is hosted by Grammy-nominated jazz singer Nnenna Freelon. In the podcast, Freelon shares her love story with architect Phil Freelon and reflects on the impact of his death.
"WUNC's on-demand portfolio would not have grown as quickly or robustly without the partnerships we've developed with creators like Nnenna Freelon and Yasmin Bendaas. I am honored that they trusted us with their ideas, stories and voices, and I am elated that Great Grief and Me & My Muslim Friends have earned recognition from the Public Media Journalists Association," said WUNC Content Director Lindsay Foster Thomas. "The opportunity to work on these unique, powerful shows has been an exciting experience for our producers, editors and engineers, and helped WUNC engage with important new audiences."
The Public Media Journalists Association Awards recognize the best work in public media journalism from across the country. Stations compete against others with similar-sized newsrooms. Overall, the judges reviewed over 1,500 entries and 221 awards were presented to 101 organizations.
