RTDNA Adds New Categories to Murrow Awards

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) will expand its signature Edward R. Murrow Awards competition in 2017 to honor outstanding examples of journalism being gathered, edited and distributed in new and innovative ways. Two new categories will be added when the contest entry period opens in December, Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Social Media.

Excellence in Innovation is designed to award news organizations that innovate their product to enhance the quality of journalism and the audience's understanding of news. Entries must demonstrate an innovative use of content, engagement, technology and/or audience experience which breaks the mold of traditional broadcast journalism.

Excellence in Social Media is is designed to reward news organizations that use social media to enhance the audience's understanding of a single news story or news event/project, as evidenced by the quality of journalism and the quantity and quality of user engagement.

"Newsrooms across the country are finding new and better ways to tell stories every day," said RTDNA Executive Director Mike Cavender. "When great journalism is presented to audiences in creative and engaging ways, we want to recognize those efforts."

Also new to the 2017 competition, radio stations will now be able to enter the "Excellence in Video" category and television stations will be able to enter the "Excellence in Sound" category, in recognition of the multimedia nature of today's newsrooms. New categories have been added to the Student Edward R. Murrow Awards as well. Awards will be presented for Excellence in Audio Newscast, Audio Reporting, Video Newscast, Video Reporting and Digital Reporting.

The entry period for the 2017 contest will open in mid-December and close in February. Regional winners will be announced in April and national winners in June. National winners will be invited to the Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala in New York in October, 2017.