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WWL-TV honored with 18 first-place Press Club awards, including best newscast & best news website

Press Club of New Orleans awards ceremony also recognized outstanding news reporting, photojournalism, digital news and sports coverage by the WWL staff in 2019.

NEW ORLEANS — Members of the Eyewitness News team were honored with 18 first-place awards from the Press Club of New Orleans, including the top awards for best newscast and best news website in their 62nd annual journalism awards competition.

The awards, honoring the work of local media and public relations professionals in 2019, were presented Thursday night in a virtual awards ceremony. WWL-TV had more nominations than any local television station.

Producer Ian Kramar earned the coveted first-place award for best newscast for “Eyewitness News at 6.” 

WWLTV.com was honored with the award for best news website. The station's digital staff won the awards for best use of Facebook and best digital special section, for the “Down the Drain” section investigating the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board.

Photojournalist Derek Waldrip won the top television photography prize, the Press Club President’s Television Photography Award. His work was recognized with first-place awards in general news videography and best visual storytelling.

Waldrip was the photographer/editor for anchor Katie Moore’s documentary, “Mystery in Ashes,” which earned the first-place award for best documentary. Moore also earned third place in investigative reporting for “Shattered,” on which Waldrip also served as photographer/editor.

Investigative reporter David Hammer won two first-place awards: best general news reporting, for his coverage of the Hard Rock construction collapse; and best environmental/science reporting for his investigation, “Stench of Failure.”

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Medical reporter Meg Farris won the first-place award for medical/health reporting for her feature on actress Linda Hamilton, who trained with New Orleans fitness expert Mackie Shilstone.

Danny Monteverde earned first-place honors in business reporting for his coverage of the sale of The Times-Picayune to The Advocate. (The newspaper and WWL-TV are coverage partners.)

Sports director Doug Mouton and reporter Paul Dudley won best sports feature. Mouton also earned the award for best sports show for Fourth Down on Four, with producer Danny Rockwell and photographer Adam Ney. The same team earned the award for best sports special.

Photographer Adam Copus won first place in best video editing, while photographer Brian Lukas won the award for best photo essay for a story chronicling the funeral for music great Art Neville.

WWL’s marketing staff earned first-place awards for best station promotion and best promotional campaign (producer Nick Chabarria and photographer Derek Waldrip).

In addition, Eyewitness Morning News Chef and feature reporter Kevin Belton won the award for best on-air talent for work on his national cooking series produced by WYES-TV, "Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebrations."

Other WWL-TV second- and third-place award winners were:
Erika Ferrando - Best Feature, “A Life of Dance”
Mike Perlstein – Continuing Coverage, “Global Wildlife: Paradise Lost?”
Ricardo LeCompte, Danny Rockwell, Doug Mouton – Best Sports Show, “4th Down Friday”
Brian Lukas - Breaking News Videography, “CBD Flooding”
Derek Waldrip – Best Video Editing, “The Forgotten East”
Adam Copus, General News Videography, “Protecting Teen Athletes in the Summer Heat”
Ricardo LeCompte – Best Sports Feature, “New Orleans Hippies”
Brian Lukas – Feature Videography, “The Real Terminator”
WWL-TV Staff – Best Use of Twitter, “Breaking News Coverage October 12, 2019
Sam Winstrom – Best Use of Instagram, “Saints Weekly Quiz”
Dominic Massa – Planned Event, “Bacchus 2019 Parade Coverage”
Eric Paulsen, Dominic Massa – Documentary, “Bless You Boys: Gayle Benson”
Katie Moore, Sara Pagones (Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate) – Continuing Coverage (Print), “Accuser Speaks out Publicly, says ex-Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain Molested him as a Child”
Mike Perlstein, Sara Pagones (Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate) – Investigative Reporting (Print), “Paradise Lost: Global Wildlife Center Draws Fire from Ex-Employees, Visitors for Animal Injuries, Alleged Neglect
Leslie Snadowsky - Business Reporting, "How to Keep the Peace when Lending your Adult Kids Money."

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