KUER’s newsroom earned 18 awards for 2020 reporting from The Utah Society of Professional Journalists. Those included 10 first place, four second place and four third place recognitions. Stories ranged from the pandemic’s impact on jobs and education to homelessness and environmental issues.
View KUER’s awards below or see the full list of winners in Utah’s SPJ contest.
Best Radio Newscast
First Place
Reporter: Caroline Ballard
Radio: General Feature
First Place
Momentum Builds To Change Utah’s Teen Treatment Industry
Reporter: David Fuchs
Judges' Comments: “Momentum Builds” is a fascinating story. We had heard of places like this but had never actually seen one. Thanks to superb writing and masterfully done audio cuts we have a much better picture. Nice work.
Radio: Criminal Justice
First Place
Police Interactions With Homeless People Still Criticized Three Years After Operation Rio Grande
Reporter: Emily Means
Judges' Comments: The winning story was full of powerful voices on the ground and in the community that brought the policy story of policing homelessness to light.
Radio: Best Use of Sound
First Place
Interest In Utah’s Paragliding Scene Soars As People Look For Alternative Activities
Reporter: Jon Reed
Radio: Business/consumer
First Place
Some Jobs May Not Be Coming Back. For Many Utahns, That Means Starting Over
Reporter: Jon Reed
Judges' Comments: The jobs piece goes beyond the usual superficial to really give a sense of the dilemma people face, and the opportunity.
Radio: Education
First Place
Content Or Connection: How Utah Teachers Are Navigating The Online Classroom
Reporter: Jon Reed
Judges' Comments: Good explanatory story about the important issue of online learning during the pandemic. Jon Reed did a nice job.
Radio: Government
First Place
Can Nuclear Replace Coal In The West? Over 20 Utah Cities Are Betting On It Despite The Risks
Reporter: Kate Groetzinger
Judges' Comments: Nuclear story was a different approach, from the viewpoint of the towns; left me wanting to know more about the technology. Good skepticism about the economics of this power source.
Radio: COVID-19 Continuing Coverage
First Place
Reporters: KUER Staff
Judges' Comments: KUER covered a vast array of topics that exceeded the other stations.
Radio: Continuing Coverage
First Place
Dixie Name Change
Reporter: Lexi Peery
Radio: series
First Place
When Legal Justice Feels Out Of Reach For Sexual Assault Survivors, Some Say Social Media Fills The Gap
Reporters: Sonja Hutson, Caroline Ballard
Judges’ Comments: "When Legal Justice" reports on an issue many never report - from the perspective of a person who identifies as "they." It is gut-wrenching to read these stories.
Radio: Continuing Coverage
Second Place
Homlessness In SLC
Reporter: Emily Means
Radio: Education
Second Place
Navajo Families Without Internet Struggle to Home-School During COVID-19 Pandemic
Reporter: Kate Groetzinger
Radio: Government Reporting
Second Place
2020 Election Could Be A Litmus Test For New, Moderate United Utah Party
Reporter: Sonja Hutson
Best Radio Reporter
Second Place
People and accountability-based political reporting
Reporter: Sonja Hutson
Radio: Series
Third Place
Utah Women Lead
Reporter: Caroline Ballard
Online: Best use of news-oriented social media
Third Place
Digital Team: Chelsea Naughton, Palak Jayswal, Tricia Bobeda, Renee Bright
Online: Best multimedia
Third Place
Portraits In Salt Lake City Memorialize George Floyd, Utahns Killed By Police
Reporters and Editors: Emily Means, Ross Terrell, Chelsea Naughton, Elaine Clark
Radio: Continuing Coverage
Third Place
Wildfires 2020
Reporters and Editors: Lexi Peery, David Fuchs, Chelsea Naughton, Ross Terrell