WNIN/UE Collaboration on COVID-19 Reporting Receives National Honor

EVANSVILLE, IN, August 17, 2021 – WNIN and the Center for Innovation and Change at the University of Evansville (UE) were honored Tuesday by being named a national winner for the 2021 Edward R. Murrow Awards, sponsored by the Radio Television Digital News Association.

In 2020, WNIN, the Center for Innovation and Change at the University of Evansville and ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? collaborated on a seven-month research and reporting project to find stories of the coronavirus pandemic in seven Midwestern states. COVID Between the Coasts (CBC) is ongoing, adding data-driven reporting on the pandemic for the historical record.

CBC Lead Reporter Sarah Kuper said, “The students’ hard work and valuable points of view, combined with the expertise of Dr. Tamara Wandel and Dr. Darrin Weber, made COVID Between the Coasts a historic time capsule of Midwestern life during the pandemic. It was their contribution that put us in the position to win one of the highest honors in the field of journalism. I know I personally learned a lot by working with them.”

WNIN Vice President of Radio Steve Burger said, “Because of the UE data and research, we were able to focus our coverage within a large survey area and break new ground. For example, our ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? team on the ground in Chicago did valuable reporting on inconsistencies in the national data regarding essential workers. We reported on rural Midwestern communities that previously were not part of the national discussion of the pandemic. We showed the differences in the pandemic’s impact across our survey area.”

“UE is proud to have been part of telling the story of our Midwestern region in the first pandemic in 100 years and highlights the significant contributions that our faculty, staff, and students make every day in our ever-changing world,” said UE President Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz. “With UE and WNIN working together, we were able to make a difference in a way that we would not have been able to do individually and are delighted by the collaboration.”

Since 1971, the Radio Television Digital News Association has honored outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the annual Edward R. Murrow Awards. These awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast news. Winners will be honored at the Murrow Awards Gala in New York City on October 27, 2021.