Earlier this week the RTNDA announced its 2021 Edward R. Murrow winners for excellence in journalism. WLRN-FM in Miami won the Murrow in the overall excellence category for its coverage of the pandemic. John Labonia is the General Manager of the station.
Radio Ink What was it like when you got the call that the station won the Murrow?
John Labonia: WLRN has been recognized with a regional Overall Excellence Award in seven of the past eight years, yet hadn’t been recognized with the national award. I had come to think of us as the Susan Lucci of Best Overall National Murrows.
WLRN News Director Terence Shepherd is the RTDNA Past President and usually gets to make the calls informing winners. Instead, he received one of those calls this year. When Terence called to share the news with me we were both incredibly proud of our entire organization. We immediately recognized how special the award is for journalism broadcast in 2020. The pandemic forced journalists to exit newsrooms and traditional studios. Our journalists proved their commitment to the truth, WLRN’s mission, and community day-in and day-out from their home “newsrooms” and studios. They worked in new physical isolation, but with collaboration and creativity. They sought out facts, voices and stories throughout a global pandemic, social justice reckoning, and contentious election (and thousands of other stories).
This award also reflects the contributions by WLRN’s engineers, IT, continuity hosts, programming, membership and underwriting colleagues. “Overall Excellence,” as the award category states, is just that – overall excellence
Radio Ink: Tell us what the station submitted and why you thought it was worthy of the award?
John Labonia: “Shady Lady,” no more Nazi salutes, an ER doctor learning his brother tested positive for COVID-19 – those were some of the highlights in the WLRN submission. Local coverage of the pandemic dominated WLRN’s entry. It included an exploration of how local governments handled public comments during virtual meetings and touching obituaries of community members lost to the virus. The submission also included an excerpt from a short documentary exploring how a Black neighborhood in Miami was displaced more than a century ago, and how local residents and institutions were responding to the social justice reckoning. Judges heard about rebuilding efforts on Abaco Island and Grand Bahama six months after Hurricane Dorian and an investigation into how Colombian politicians were exerting influence in South Florida during the 2020 election. The 41:46 best-of audio reel included stories of climate change’s impact for senior living facilities on Miami Beach, why an underwater coral reef camera popular on social media got its own soundtrack, and the blowing of a Spanish boatswain’s whistle that hadn’t been heard in over 400 years.
The journalism was drawn from regular WLRN newscasts, and our news programs: Sundial, Florida Roundup, South Florida Roundup, Sunshine Economy and WLRN Connects, a special 13-week program produced over the summer of 2020. The breadth and depth of the audio journalism reflects the variety of life in South Florida and echoes with the sounds of our community.
Radio Ink: News seems to be a lost art at so many radio stations these days. Why is it important at your station?
John Labonia: News is thriving at WLRN thanks to the strong support of its members. The WLRN news department is less than 20 years old. It has grown as the community has discovered and invested in WLRN. As other local news organizations have shrunk or focus on the sensational side of local journalism, WLRN’s audience has relied on the station for independent, civil and fair news coverage of important issues such as education, the environment and health care. WLRN invests in local journalism with the belief that the community deserves the type of rich storytelling and inquisitive news gathering upon which public media has built its reputation.
Radio Ink: With so much fake news, social media news sources and other competition, how do you make your station stand out for news?
John Labonia: Fake news is not news. News is news. Verifiable facts, empirical evidence and authentic experience form the foundation of local journalism organizations. And there is not a more clear cut expression of that trust than a community member contributing money to our nonprofit organization in support of that journalism. We concentrate on providing important information in an engaging way that’s necessary for citizens to exercise their civic duty. We examine local institutions. We focus on journalistically underserved communities. We invite our audience to participate in storytelling. We explore the arts. We listen and we connect our region beyond the reach of our terrestrial broadcast signal.
Radio Ink: Talk about the dedication of your team.
John Labonia: The entire WLRN staff is unwavering and unparalleled in its commitment to serving our community. Combined, we have centuries of broadcast and journalism experience in the organization. It is on display each day from the news anchor’s microphone wind screen to the highest radio tower light and all the important work necessary to exceed the audience’s highest expectations. This is an award made possible by everyone’s hard work and dedication to WLRN’s mission. Simply put: it takes an entire organization with a shared vision and commitment to mission to achieve a national award such as this. I am grateful to be able to work with them, and for the community support that makes our work possible.
Reach out to John to congratulate him and his team for winning the 2021 Edward R. Murrow award for Overall Excellence in journalism at [email protected]
