WWL-TV has been honored with three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including awards for best digital news coverage, hard news and a special award for excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion.
The awards were announced Thursday by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
WWL’s top award for best digital coverage recognizes content on WWLTV.com, WWL-TV’s app and social media platforms.
The entry included links to multiple stories in the investigative series “Standard of Care,” examining the deadly toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in local nursing homes. The series was produced by investigative reporters Katie Moore and Mike Perlstein and photographer/editors T.J. Pipitone and Derek Waldrip. The station’s COVID-19 tracker and interactive map, overseen by senior digital producer Kevin Dupuy, was also included in the Murrow digital news entry.
The digital entry also included the documentary “The Story Behind the Standoff” (produced by anchor Charisse Gibson and photographer/editor Adam Copus), as well as breaking news coverage of the death of Mardi Gras float builder Blaine Kern and breaking news coverage of the tragic death of a paradegoer during the 2020 Endymion parade.
WWL-TV also earned a Murrow Award in the Hard News category for the story “Rescue and Recovery,” produced by anchor Karen Swensen and Waldrip. The Feb. 2020 story chronicled the miraculous recovery of Jefferson Parish firefighter Danny Ziegler who was critically burned and injured while fighting a fire in Old Metairie.
The station also earned an award for excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion, for “The Talk.” The half-hour special examined the difficult conversation many Black parents have with their children about race relations and interacting with police officers. This is the first year the Murrow Awards have presented an award in this category.
WWL-TV’s Murrow winners were selected among entries from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. They will now compete for national Edward R. Murrow Awards.
