Congratulations to Our Twin Cities Broadcasters

In May, two of our Twin Cities Local union broadcast radio shops were honored by the Radio Television Digital News Association with Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Since 1971, the RTDNA has presented regional and national awards for outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism, recognizing local and national news stories that uphold their code of ethics, demonstrate technical expertise, and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism to their communities.

Long-standing Twin Cities Local union station WCCO Radio received the award in the Newscast division for its Minnesota Morning News program, hosted by current shop steward and Twin Cities Local Board member Steve Simpson. Simpson shared, “The quantity of content that is produced by our SAG-AFTRA reporters, anchors, hosts and producers on a daily basis continues to amaze me. To be recognized by our peers for the quality of that work is humbling, even in a shop that has been an integral part of Minnesota and winning awards for decades.”

One of our local’s newer union radio broadcast stations, MPR News, was honored multiple times with awards for Breaking News Coverage, Continuing Coverage, Feature Reporting, Hard News, News Series, and Overall Excellence. MPR shop steward Matt Mikus shared the following comments about their awards: “We have amazing and dedicated journalists working in our bargaining unit, and it is awe-inspiring to see our hard work recognized by colleagues in the profession. We’re quite aware that we are fortunate. Many fellow journalists — including those in public media — need to juggle their work while dealing with the looming cloud of budget cuts, downsizing and layoffs. We stand in solidarity with our fellow journalism professionals and know that when we’re supported and compensated fairly, we can deliver the quality news and information our country needs.”

“We live in a time where ethical journalism holds even greater importance,” added SAG-AFTRA Twin Cities Local President Casey E. Lewis. “I congratulate all the Murrow Award winners, and add a special shout-out to our Twin Cities Local member broadcasters!” 

The National Murrow Awards will be announced in August.