APR’s Coverage of Alabama Prisons Wins Regional, National Awards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama Public Radio won four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and a national Sigma Delta Chi award for its investigative coverage of the Alabama prison system.

The Edward R. Murrow awards are conferred by the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Alabama Public radio competes in region 9 against small market radio stations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. APR won 2017 Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence, News Documentary, News Series and Newscast.

The Sigma Delta Chi award, bestowed by the Society of Professional Journalists, is awarded annually, recognizing the best in professional journalism in categories covering print, radio, television, newsletters, art/graphics, online and research.

This achievement marks APR’s third Sigma Delta Chi award.

“Everyone in the newsroom really worked hard on this project. The more we looked into Alabama’s prison system, the worse it got,” said Pat Duggins, APR news director.  “The APR news team and I are flattered to receive this prestigious national award on this vital issue.”

For six months, the four-person APR news team researched and produced a series on justice and prison reform. Within weeks of airing the first part of this series, the U. S. Justice Department announced an investigation into Alabama’s prison system.

Additionally, in the time since the broadcasts aired, the Alabama state Legislature has overturned the judicial override law, and the mental health lawsuit was granted class action status.

Alabama Public Radio’s Murrow award for Newscast came from their Feb. 29 newscast, highlighting a presidential candidate’s visit to Alabama, a candlelight vigil for renowned author, Harper Lee and research done on tornado behavior in the Southern U.S.

Regional Murrow Award winners will be judged for the national Murrow Awards, which will be announced over the summer.

The members of the Alabama Public Radio news team are: Duggins, Stan Ingold, assistant news director,  Alex AuBuchon, “Morning Edition” host and MacKenzie Bates, former “All Things Considered” host.

The Edward R. Murrow Awards are named for the internationally renowned broadcast journalist whose name they bear. Established by RTDNA in 1971, these annual awards recognize the best electronic journalism produced by radio, television and digital news organizations around the world.

Alabama Public Radio is a network of public radio stations licensed by The University of Alabama and located in Bryant-Denny Stadium’s Digital Media Center. Its affiliation with the College of Communication and Information Sciences gives students opportunities for practical training in a variety of production activities.