Michigan Radio received sixteen awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for achievement in broadcasting in 2012. The awards were announced Wednesday evening at the MAB’s annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference in Lansing. The station’s awards include recognition as Public Radio Station of the Year-Group 2, an award Michigan Radio has won every year for the past decade.
Michigan Radio also received nine First Place awards and six Merit awards in recognition of the station’s news coverage, feature reporting, and special interest programming, in addition to other categories. Michigan Radio's innovative journalism and outreach project “State of Opportunity” was honored for Best Community Involvement. “State of Opportunity” also won Best in New Media for a digital story-gathering project that is allowing people in communities affected most by poverty to tell their own stories. “State of Opportunity” is a journalism and outreach project looking at what can be done to improve opportunities for Michigan’s most disadvantaged children. The “State of Opportunity” team produces weekly feature reports, quarterly documentaries and call-in shows, and engages in extensive work in the community. Support for the project comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Michigan Radio received MAB awards in the following categories:
Station awards
- Station of the Year
First Place- Best in Category
- Special Interest & Cultural Programming: “The Living Room” - Allison Downey, Zak Rosen
- Mini Documentary or Series: “Lessons from Isle Royale’s Wolves and Moose” - Rebecca Williams, Mark Brush
- Feature/Use of Medium: “Jackie and Joe” - Kate Wells
- Newscast: August 31st, 2012 - Christina Shockley with Lindsey Smith, Vince Duffy, Steve Carmody
- Musical Programming: “Songs from Studio East” - Mercedes Mejia, Jenn White, Bob Skon
- New Media: “State of Opportunity” - Sarah Alvarez with Jennifer Guerra and Dustin Dwyer
- Community Involvement: “State of Opportunity” - Jenn Guerra, Dustin Dwyer, Sarah Alvarez, Jenn White, Tamar Charney, Vince Duffy, Steve Chrypinski
- Marketing Materials & Promos: “That’s What They Say” - Tamar Charney, Mercedes Mejia, Anne Curzan, Rina Miller
- Membership Appeal: “Giving Voice” - Tamar Charney, Mercedes Mejia, Tom Sleeker
Merit Awards
- Special Interest & Cultural Programming: “That’s What They Say” - Rina Miller, Anne Curzan, Mercedes Mejia
- Mini Documentary or Series: “New International Trade Crossing” - Lester Graham, Sarah Cweik
- Feature/Use of Medium: “Idlewild” - Kate Wells
- Hard News & Current Events: “40 Square Mile Myth” - Kate Davidson
- New Media: “Living with Cancer” - Rebecca Williams, Mark Brush, Sarah Alvarez
- Community Involvement: “Issues and Ale: Truth Squad” - Steve Chrypinski, Lester Graham, Jack Lessenberry
The Broadcast Excellence Awards program recognizes outstanding achievement in broadcasting by Michigan television and radio stations each year. All 2012 entries aired between January 1 and December 31, 2012. Michigan Radio competes in Group 2 of the Broadcast Excellence Award Divisions, which is for stations with more than $2 million budget.
Michigan Radio has the state’s largest radio news gathering team, with over twenty reporters and other professionals creating the station’s on-air and online news content. The station’s news and programming teams are led by News Director Vincent Duffy and Program Director Tamar Charney.
