HARTFORD, Conn. (July 2, 2018) – Connecticut Public Radio today announced it was the recipient of four national awards from the PRNDI – Public Radio News Directors Incorporated – for outstanding programming in 2017.
“Connecticut Public Radio continues its commitment to provide timely, compelling and important programming that brings issues of regional, national and international importance to our listeners,” says Elizabeth Messina, Vice President of Media Innovation.” It’s most gratifying to hear from our listeners in the community that this work is important to them. It means we are fulfilling our public service mission.”
Connecticut Public Radio’s Where We Live program, hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil, won two second place awards for Call-in Programs and Interviews. The award-winning call-in program, Mainstreaming Menstruation, took the often taboo subject to the airways for an open discussion about the monthly cycle for half the world’s population. The show’s other award was for Tackling Islamophobia: A Connecticut Man’s Story of Transformation that discussed how hate drives people to do unspeakable things but how often do these stories end in forgiveness and friendship. The one-hour interview featured Ted Hakey Jr. and Zahir Mannan, who met after Hakey shot his rifle into Mannan’s place of worship — the Ahmaddiya Baitul Amman Mosque in Meriden in 2015.
NEXT, a weekly show and podcast, hosted by John Dankosky with stories curated from the work of The New England News Collaborative, won first place in the category News/Public Affairs for its program Episode 58: Under the Gun. The episode included a report on alarming suicide rates in Vermont, which account for 89 percent of gun-related deaths.
Connecticut Public Radio also won a second place award for Nationally Edited Continuing Coverage for WNPR’s The Island Next Door, an ongoing series of first-hand reports about the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on both the residents of Puerto Rico and the nearly 300,000 Connecticut residents with ties to the island.
The 2018 PRNDI Conference awards ceremony recognized and celebrated the work of reporting, editing, anchoring and producing at local public media radio stations across the U.S. Covering the outstanding efforts of 2017, more than 190 awards were presented for categories including Breaking News, Call-in Programs, Documentaries, Interviews, and News Features.
About Connecticut Public
Connecticut Public is the state’s only locally-owned media organization producing television, radio, print, and web content for Connecticut’s wide-ranging and diverse communities. It is home to Connecticut Public Television, Connecticut Public Radio, and Connecticut Public Learning. Connecticut Public Television is an affiliate of PBS and is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming. Connecticut Public Radio is an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. Connecticut Public Learning serves high school seniors through a partnership with Hartford Public Schools and the Journalism and Media Academy Magnet School. It is also home to the Institute for Advanced Media, a program that provides veterans and adult learners an opportunity to learn valuable digital media skills. For more information, visit content.ctpublic.org.