WKMS News is in the finals for eight state broadcasting awards. Kentucky Associated Press Broadcasters Association recently announced the finalists for the 2016 professional and college contests.
Local Ohio Valley ReSource reporter Nicole Erwin has four entries in the finals: two OVR pieces in Best Enterprise Reporting: "Growing Concerns: Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Sows Anxiety in Agriculture" and "Piggy Express: ‘Right to Farm’ Law Shields Giant Hog Operation"; also Best Sports Feature or Special with "Nita Head: A Pioneer for Women's Sports at Murray State" and Best Use of Sound with "Titan the Rooster Cock-a-doodle-doos to Employee of the Month."
(Note: All in all, there are four Ohio Valley ReSource stories in the finals. The other two are from WKYU-based producer Becca Schimmel, a former WKMS student reporter now working at the Bowling Green affiliate).
News Director Matt Markgraf is a finalist in Best Short Light News Feature for "Paducah's Maiden Alley Hosts Inaugural 'Cinema Systers' All-Lesbian Film Festival." Station Manager Chad Lampe is a finalist in Best Long Public Affairs for "Adolescent Addiction and Its Impact on the Brain." And reporter John Null is also in the Best Enterprise Reporting category for "Unsolved Mystery: The Murder of an Eggner's Ferry Bridge Toll Collector."
In the College contest, former student reporter and now Murray State alum Parker Franklin is a finalist in the Best News Story category with "How Universities Address Kentucky's Doctor Shortage."
Winners will be announced on April 29 at an awards ceremony in Lexington.
PROFESSIONAL
Best Short Light News Feature:
Best Sports Feature or Special:
- Nicole Erwin: "Nita Head: A Pioneer for Women's Sports at Murray State"
Best Long Public Affairs:
- Chad Lampe: "Adolescent Addiction and Its Impact on the Brain"
Best Enterprise Reporting:
- Nicole Erwin: "Growing Concerns: Trump’s Immigration Rhetoric Sows Anxiety in Agriculture"
- Nicole Erwin: "Piggy Express: ‘Right to Farm’ Law Shields Giant Hog Operation"
- John Null: "Unsolved Mystery: The Murder of an Eggner's Ferry Bridge Toll Collector"
Best Use of Sound:
- Nicole Erwin: "Titan the Rooster Cock-a-doodle-doos to Employee of the Month"
COLLEGE
Best News Story
- Parker Franklin: "How Universities Address Kentucky's Doctor Shortage"