Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism today announced that Michigan Radio is a winner of a 2017 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for the documentary, Not Safe To Drink.
The Not Safe To Drink documentary traced the story of the Flint water crisis, and how the water in Flint became unsafe to drink. The documentary first aired on Michigan Radio in December, 2015. Not Safe to Drink was reported and produced by Lindsey Smith and edited by Sarah Hulett, with reporting help from Michigan Radio‘s Steve Carmody, Rebecca Williams and Mark Brush and editing help from Jennifer Guerra.
Michigan Radio was one of four public broadcasting duPont-Columbia award winners nationwide, which also included the PBS programs Frontline and Nova, and NPR/Colorado Public Radio for their joint exposé on the Army’s mistreatment of disabled veterans.
“Now more than ever, reliable news and information are critical to our society,” said Bill Wheatley, the chairman of this year’s awards jury. “In their 75th year, the duPont Awards continue to recognize the vital contributions to public knowledge made by free, fair and probing journalists.”
Since the founding in 1942, the duPont Awards have honored accurate and fair reporting about important issues that are powerfully told. In 2017, the duPont-Columbia Awards will celebrate their 75th anniversary with special events featuring distinguished past winners and award-winning reporting in the public service, including Ira Glass, of This American Life and past winner of four duPonts, and a tribute to the late Gwen Ifill, PBS news anchor.
The duPont Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at Columbia University, co-hosted by Lester Holt, ?anchor of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Dateline, and Jane Pauley?, host of CBS News Sunday Morning.