Vermont Public’s account of an ICE raid in South Burlington has won Broadcaster of the Year from the Vermont Association of Broadcasters. The honor headlines a November 14 gala where multiple radio and broadcast figures also enter the VAB Hall of Fame.
The Vermont Association of Broadcasters will induct Bob Kinzel, Kia Winchell Nealy, and Howard Ginsberg into its Hall of Fame.
Kinzel, a broadcast journalist at Vermont Public’s Capital Bureau in Montpelier, has covered the Vermont Statehouse continuously since 1981 and previously served as news director at WNCS and operator of the Vermont News Service, which supplied news to eleven radio stations. Winchell Nealy spent 40 years with Radio Vermont Group as a copywriter, traffic director, news contributor, and host of The Trading Post. Ginsberg, a radio engineer since the 1970s, co-founded 95 Triple X (WXXX) in South Burlington in 1984, serving as Chief Engineer and later General Manager and shaping its Top 40 sound with added reverb.
Vermont Public is Broadcaster of the Year for No Exit: Inside a Botched ICE Raid in Vermont.
Jamie Dennis of Vox AM/FM/Digital, an engineer and on-air host on WVTK in Middlebury, receives the Distinguished Service Award. WEQX in Manchester receives the Alan Noyes Community Service Award for a 24-hour radiothon tied to its Clean Jams show that raised thousands of dollars for The Wilson House and 1761 Arts. Erin Howard, Radio and Digital Sales Consultant at Hall Communications Radio Group, is a Rising Star, and Robert “Bob” Shotwell receives the Friend of Broadcasters Award for his years as the VAB’s alternative broadcast inspection provider.
Four television professionals will also be honored. Details on all honorees and the ceremony are on the VAB website.
