Tag: Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters

WVPB Newsroom Wins Big At Virginias AP Broadcasters Awards

The WVPB Newsroom received seven first place awards, eight second place awards, with Randy Yohe, WVPB Marshall/Huntington bureau chief, receiving The West Virginia Lifetime Achievement Award.

The winners of the 2024 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters (VAPB) Awards were announced on April 5 at the Awards Luncheon and Annual Membership Meeting at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) Newsroom won 16 awards this year.

Thirty-four news organizations in Virginia and West Virginia submitted 611 entries into the contest, which featured news and sports stories from 2024.

The WVPB Newsroom received seven first place awards, eight second place awards, with Randy Yohe, WVPB Marshall/Huntington bureau chief, receiving The West Virginia Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I could not be prouder of the WVPB newsroom,” said WVPB Director of Broadcast Journalism, Eric Douglas. “The challenges of telling stories across the entire state are great, but the reporters turn out news stories each day that are important to our audience. And do it as well as anyone in a two-state region.”

“The journalists at West Virginia Public Broadcasting continue to tell stories that have impact on our local communities”, added WVPB Executive Director, Eddie Isom. “They keep West Virginians informed and are committed to the mission of WVPB to educate, inform and inspire.”

The VAPB also awarded a $2,000 scholarship to Claudia Di Lima, a student majoring in media and broadcast journalism at West Virginia University’s (WVU) Reed College of Media.

The VAPB is an independent association comprised of local members of The Associated Press, a not-for-profit news cooperative that represents thousands of newspapers and broadcast stations across the United States.

2024 Virginias AP Broadcasters Contest Awards:

The West Virginia Lifetime Achievement Award:

  • Randy Yohe, WVPB Marshall/Huntington bureau chief
Combined Division (TV/RADIO):

Best Podcast-Audio:

Radio I/Metro:

Best Spot News:

  • First, Briana Heaney, Jack Walker and Caelan Bailey, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV “De Soto Arrested”
  • Second, Julia White and Harper Emch, WVNS-TV, Beckley-Bluefield-Lewisburg, WV, “Crime in the Coalfields”

Best Continuing News:

  • First, Sandy Hausman, WVTF-FM, Roanoke, VA, “Red Onion”

Best Documentary or In-Depth:

  • Second, Megan Pauly, Jahd Khalil and Whittney Evans, VPM News, Richmond, VA, “Protest Policies at Virginia’s Colleges.”

Best Light Feature:

  • Second, Roxy Todd, WVTF-FM, Roanoke, VA, “Afghan Refugees”

Best Serious Feature:

  • First, Katherine Hafner, WHRO-FM, Norfolk, VA, “Researchers Look to Virginia’s Barrier Islands for Answers to Climate Change”

Best Use of Sound:

  • First Cianna Morales, WHRO-FM, Norfolk, VA, “Restoring Voting Rights in Virginia With Fish as the Bait”

Best MMJ/One-Person Band Reporter:

  • First, Patrick Larsen, VPM News, Richmond, VA

Best Multi-Platform Story:

Best Website:

  • First, Emma Gallus, Shane Darling and John Boggess, WMUL-FM, Huntington, WV

Best Newscast:

  • First, Craig Wright, WVTF-FM, Roanoke, VA

Best Mountain State Heritage:

Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

  • Second, Brad Kutner, WVTF-FM, Roanoke, VA, “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

About West Virginia Public Broadcasting:

The mission of West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) is to educate, inform, and inspire people by telling West Virginia’s story. WVPB is an indispensable resource for education, news and public affairs, emergency services and economic development. Learn more at www.wvpublic.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amanda Rogers
Marketing Manager
304-556-4911
arogers@wvpublic.org

Us & Them Encore: SNAP — Do The Hungry Get More Policy Than Nutrition?

Hunger and poverty are universal challenges, but in the U.S. for more than 50 years, support programs like SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, have provided help to those in need. On this Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with three people — a retiree, a mom and a lawmaker — who all say that nutritional support has made a difference in their lives.

Forty-two million Americans, or about 12 percent of the the population, need help feeding their families. 

That help often comes from a federal program called SNAP — which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. The Mountain State is one of the top recipients of SNAP benefits. Nearly 45 percent of recipients are older adults or families with someone who’s disabled, while nearly 60 percent are families with children. 

The nation’s food support program began six decades ago, as a pilot program in McDowell County. Since then, it has reduced poverty and hunger across the nation. 

In an award-winning encore episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with three people — a retiree, a mom and a lawmaker who all say that nutritional support has made a difference in their lives. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Reenie Kittle, 75, from Harding, W.Va., is a widow and retired with a physical disability. She does what she can to get by on a meager fixed income.

“How do I live on a fixed income? Very scarcely,” Kittle told Us & Them host Trey Kay as they sat in the living room of her converted double-wide home. “So I have to buy pellets for my wood stoves in the winter months. I have to pay the water bill … all my bills. I don’t go out very much ‘cause I can’t afford the gas. With my income and my bills of $1,300 a month, I am lucky if I have $200, maybe $250 left over to try to find food. My neighbor sometimes will bring me supper, and that’s been a blessing to me. They try to help me food-wise as much as they can. For SNAP, I qualify for $23 a month. It is nothing. They just tell me that they’ve reviewed my case and that’s as much as they can do. They have no extra money to give and that’s it.”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Each month, Reenie Kittle heads to the grocery store in Elkins, W.Va. with $23 from the federal government’s SNAP program. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — it used to be called “Food Stamps.” 

Reenie beelines past the produce section … beyond the tower of packaged strawberries, the cold case full of carrots and greens. She’s not here to buy what she wants to eat. She’s here to stretch the money she is allotted to the very last penny.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Roughly 18 percent of West Virginia residents use SNAP benefits. Nationally, that number is more like 12 percent, which means that 42 million people across America need help getting enough to eat. 

Seth DiStefano, with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, lobbies to support programs like SNAP — which became a centerpiece of the social reform programs in President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” initiative. DiStefano says SNAP has its roots in West Virginia. This goes back to when President John F. Kennedy started the original “Food Stamp” program in McDowell County.

“It truly is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the history of the United States,” DiStefano says.

Photo Credit: West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy
Mary Kathryn Molitor, 34, lives in St. Albans, W.Va. with her three daughters and an old dog named Brenda. Mary Kathryn works full-time at a local credit union, making about $13 an hour. When the Us & Them team first spoke with her, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk on the record about her relationship with SNAP saying it was her “dirty little secret.”

“I don’t tell people that I use SNAP benefits because I know what that person looks like and that person doesn’t look like me,” Molitor explains while pulling one of her wriggling twin daughters up onto her hip. “That person doesn’t have a college education. That person doesn’t have a full-time job. That person isn’t who I am. I find it embarrassing. I don’t want to admit that I need help.”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
To supplement her family’s food supply, Mary Kathryn Molitor often goes to the Capital Market in Charleston and checks to see if they have wilted vegetable plants that are about to be discarded. She takes them home to plant in her garden.

“Those are pumpkins right there. Volunteers. All those tomatoes? Volunteers. Sunflowers? Volunteers,” Molitor says while showing Us & Them host Trey Kay the plants around her home. “After Halloween — I threw my pumpkins into a couple of different areas and they rotted, seeded and they are giants now!  They grow on their own. They volunteer! If anybody needs a free pumpkin this year, just come to my house!”

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Del. Jonathan Pinson represents the 17th District of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, on the western border of the state including parts of Mason and Jackson counties. Pinson, a Republican and a Baptist pastor was first elected in 2020. 

“I cannot say that I have issues with [SNAP] in general,” Pinson told Us & Them host Trey Kay when they met in Point Pleasant, W.Va. “One of the reasons that I can’t say that I’m opposed to that is because I think back prior to my adoption … at 15 years old … I go back to Saturday mornings sitting in a line at the armory in Florida, picking up corn flakes and powdered milk and five pound jugs of peanut butter. And I can tell you that there were many, many meals that I wouldn’t have had, had my parents not been on food stamps — and at the time, ‘commodities,’ that’s what it was called. So I can’t say that I’m opposed to the government helping when help is warranted.”

Photo Credit: West Virginia Legislature

W.Va.’s Legislative Scorecard And A Look At Compassion Fatigue On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, we speak with Judy Ball, chair of the Legislative Action Workgroup for the League of Women Voters of West Virginia, to break down the state’s 2024 Legislative Scorecard. Also, we hear an excerpt from our Us & Them episode, “Compassion Fatigue.”

On this West Virginia Morning, the League of Women Voters of West Virginia has released their 2024 Legislative Scorecard. It compiles the votes from all delegates and state senators on 26 bills that became law to give an idea where they stand on issues.

Judy Ball, chair of the League’s Legislative Action Workgroup, spoke with Government Reporter Randy Yohe on the scorecard results.

Also, in this show, many communities see people turning away from homeless shelters to temporary encampments. Nonprofit agencies and government programs struggle to support a vulnerable population with complicated needs. 

At a recent AP award’s event, the Virginias AP Broadcasters acknowledged an Us & Them episode focused on homelessness with a second place for Best Podcast. In that episode, host Trey Kay talks with Barbara DiPietro, the director of policy for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. We listen to an excerpt.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

WVPB Newsroom Brings Home Awards From Virginias AP Broadcasters

Winners of the 2023 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards were announced March 23 at the Awards Luncheon and Annual Membership Meeting at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. WVPB brought home five first place awards and seven second place awards in eight different categories. 

Winners of the 2023 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters (VAPB) Awards were announced March 23 at the Awards Luncheon and Annual Membership Meeting at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Thirty-eight news organizations in Virginia and West Virginia submitted 619 entries in the contest, which featured news and sports from 2023.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) brought home five first place awards and seven second place awards in eight different categories. 

The VAPB also awarded a $3,000 scholarship to Hunner Moore, a student majoring in media and broadcast journalism at West Virginia University’s (WVU) Reed College of Media.

The VAPB is an independent association comprised of local members of The Associated Press, a not-for-profit news cooperative that represents thousands of newspapers and broadcast stations across the United States.

Winners In The 2023 Virginias AP Broadcasters Contest: 

West Virginia Public Broadcasting brought home 12 awards on Saturday, March 23, 2024 from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards Luncheon.

Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

COMBINED DIVISION (TV/RADIO):

Best Podcast-Audio:

RADIO I/METRO:

Best Continuing News:

Best Light Feature:

Best MMJ/One-Person Band Reporter:

Best QA (One-on-One) Interview:

Best Specialty Reporting:

  • First, Ben Paviour, VPM News, Richmond, VA, “Politics/Criminal Justice”

  • Second, Emily Rice, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Unwinding Medicaid.”

Best Mountain State Heritage:

Excellence in Public Service Through Journalism:

WVPB Announces Finalists For 74th Annual Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards

West Virginia Public Broadcasting is proud to announce eleven finalists in nine categories for the 74th Annual Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards. The awards will be announced Saturday, April 1, 2023, at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. The event honors the best work of 2022 and is open to Virginia and West Virginia broadcasters.

Teresa Wills Nominated for Best Radio News Anchor for Second Year in a Row

CHARLESTON, WV: West Virginia Public Broadcasting is proud to announce eleven finalists in nine categories for the 74th Annual Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards. The awards will be announced Saturday, April 1, 2023, at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. The event honors the best work of 2022 and is open to Virginia and West Virginia broadcasters.

“We are extremely excited that many of our employees at West Virginia Public Broadcasting are being recognized by our industry peers for continuing to produce award-winning news coverage,” said Butch Antolini, WVPB Executive Director. “We take pride in our work, and this continues a long tradition of WVPB being honored by regional and national organizations for our journalistic excellence.”

WVPB Nominations include:

  • Best Radio News Anchor: Teresa Wills, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Bridge Safety and A Discussion About the State’s Personal Income Tax on This West Virginia Morning.”
  • Best Podcast-Audio: Trey Kay and Emily Haavik, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Court of Second Chances”
  • Best Spot News: Caroline MacGregor, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Airport Expansion’s Potential Impact on Coonskin Park Worries Local Residents.”
  • Best Documentary or In-Depth: Trey Kay and Marisa Helms, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “The Gun Divide”; Jessica Lilly, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “West Virginia Water Trails: Rebuilding Buffalo Creek’s Identity.”
  • Best Light Feature: Mason Adams, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Floyd’s Friday Night Jamboree Builds Community from Music”
  • Best QA (One-on-One) Interview: Eric Douglas, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Arthur’ Author Appears at Book Festival”
  • Best Specialty Reporting: Chris Schulz, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Mon County Bans Pride Flags in Schools, Receives Pushback.”
  • Best Multi-Platform Story: Jessica Lilly, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “West Virginia Water Trails: Rebuilding Buffalo Creek’s Identity.”
  • Best Mountain State Heritage: Lauren Griffin, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “Dirt, Soot, Smoke and Oil: Mechanics Take on the Dirty Job of Repairing Antique Trains”; Zack Harold, WVPB-FM, Charleston, WV, “A Guitar Surgeon Gives Old Instruments Their Voices Back.”

The Virginias AP Broadcasters group is an independent association comprised of local radio and television members of The Associated Press from throughout Virginia and West Virginia. The group honors important broadcast journalism through our annual awards contest.

Four divisions compete in thirty categories. The divisions include Television I (Large Market), Television II (Small Market), Radio I (Metro) and Radio II (Non-Metro).

WVPB Takes Home 13 AP Of The Virginias Awards, Including First Place For Outstanding News Operation

West Virginia Public Broadcasting won 13 awards in 11 categories over the weekend at the 2021 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters awards luncheon at the Greenbrier Resort. Notably, WVPB’s news team won first place for Outstanding News Operation.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting won 13 awards in 11 categories over the weekend at the 2021 Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters awards luncheon at the Greenbrier Resort.

Notably, WVPB’s news team won first place for Outstanding News Operation.

“Tremendous in-depth reporting,” the judges wrote of WVPB’s newsroom. “This organization clearly understands its responsibility to not only serve in the public’s best interest but to tell its region’s stories. Well done!”

There were 37 news organizations in Virginia and West Virginia that submitted 587 entries into the 2021 award categories. While technically not part of the news department, Teresa Wills won first place for Best Radio News Anchor for WVPB’s morning radio show West Virginia Morning.

Below is a list of WVPB’s awards:

RADIO I/METRO:

Best Continuing News, Second Place, Liz McCormick, “Closing the COVID Gap”

Best Documentary or In-Depth, First Place, Trey Kay and Ryan Katz, “Those Who Lack Good Oral Health Face Far More Than a Toothless Hillbilly Stereotype”

Best Light Feature, First Place, Zack Harold, “Friends and Family Remember Russell Yann, Iconic Owner of Fairmont Hotdog Hotspot”

Best Serious Feature, First Place, Jessica Lilly, “Woman Underground: How One W.Va. Miner Found Family and Fatherly Connection in Coal”

Best Sports Feature, Second Place, Jessica Lilly, “Fayetteville Native Takes 7th in Paralympics 100-Meters”

Best Reporter, First Place, Jessica Lilly; Second Place, June Leffler

Best QA (One-on-One) Interview, Second Place, Liz McCormick, “Returning Home: Berkeley County Special Education Teacher Lifts Up Students With Disabilities”

Best Website, First Place, West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Best Radio News Anchor, First Place, Teresa Wills

Best Mountain State Heritage, First Place, Zack Harold, “Retired Miner Makes Traditional Cream Pull Candy;” Second Place, Trey Kay, “Us and Them: Blair Mountain”

Outstanding News Operation of the Virginias, First Place, West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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