Work by WPR & PBS Wisconsin reporters, hosts, editors, producers and staff are regularly recognized by our journalism and broadcasting colleagues. Find links to award-winning WPR & PBS Wisconsin stories and programs below.
2024 WPR Awards
Excellence in Journalism Awards – Milwaukee Press Club
Best Long Soft Feature Story – Audio
Gold – “How a tiny Wisconsin village went viral nearly 60 years ago.” (Colleen Leahy)
Silver – “Exploring the handmade tunnels of ‘Sandland.’” (Trevor Hook)
Best Short Hard Feature Story – Audio
Gold – “‘Thou shalt not forget Wisconsin’: Haunted by 2016, Democrats are all in on the Midwestern battleground.” (Anya van Wagtendonk)
Silver – “‘We own it. It’s our place’: Worsened care feared as counties privatize their nursing homes.” (Addie Costello)
Best Coverage of a Single or Ongoing Breaking News Story – Audio
Silver – “Milwaukee readies for RNC after Trump assassination attempt” (Margaret Faust, Evan Casey, Corrinne Hess)
Best Series Reporting – Audio
Silver – “Tensions high in Lac du Flambeau as road dispute between tribe, town, drags on” (Danielle Kaeding)
Best Short Soft Feature Story – Audio
Bronze – “Strolling down Candy Cane Lane: A West Allis holiday tradition” (Mallory Cheng)
Best Use of Audio Within a Report – Audio
Bronze – “These Wisconsin volunteers are opening up their homes to wild animals” (Sarah Lehr)
Best Coverage of a Single News Topic or Event Including Breaking News – Online
Gold – Abundant Life Christian School shooting coverage (Sarah Lehr; Anya van Wagtendonk; Anna Marie Yanny; Jenny Peek; Corrinne Hess)
Best Long Hard Feature Story – Online
Gold – “Whitewater adjusts to changing population amid increase of immigrants” (Evan Casey)
Best Long Soft Feature Story – Online
Gold – Could the discovery of ancient canoes lead researchers to an underwater Indigenous village? (Sarah Lehr)
Best Short Hard Feature Story – Online
Gold – A family struggled to find mental health help for their teen girl. They are not alone (Corrinne Hess)
Silver – Green Bay spent years rehashing the 2020 election. Now, the city is bracing for November. (Joe Schulz)
Best Use of Multimedia
Gold – Wisconsin Life Food Traditions (Maureen McCollum; Kelly Saran; Ali Khan; Maria Brunetta; Angela Major; Danielle Kaeding)
Bronze – Wisconsin Violinist is helping create the sounds of the RNC (Mackenzie Krumme)
Best News Photograph – Visual Journalism
Bronze – UW-Madison pro-Palestine protest arrest (Angela Major)
Best Feature Photograph – Visual Journalism
Bronze – Green County Cheese Days breaks polka world record
Awards for Excellence – Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
Best Radio Show – Medium Market
2nd Place – Route 51 – April 26 – Bad River (Shereen Siewart, Ezra Wall, Joy Ratchkramer)
2024 PBS Wisconsin Awards
Excellence in Journalism Awards – Milwaukee Press Club
Best Documentary – Video
Gold – “Wisconsin Lighthouses“
Bronze – “Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Beloit“
Best Regularly Scheduled News or Sports Program – Video
Gold – “Here & Now”
Best Editing – Video
Gold – “Wisconsin Life: Femme & Queer Skate Night”
Best Individual Reporting of News – Video
Gold – “Here & Now: Wisconsin school district referendums and defeasance”
Best Long Hard Feature Story – Video
Gold – “Here & Now: Medicaid and pay for workers with developmental disabilities”
Best Long Soft Feature Story – Video
Gold – “Wisconsin Life: Red Putter”
Best Writing in a Video Story – Video
Bronze – “Here & Now: Who did — or didn’t — watch the 2024 RNC around Wisconsin?”
Best Use of Multimedia – Online
Gold – “Wisconsin Life Food Traditions”
Best Short Soft Feature Story – Online
Gold – “Here & Now: How many fresh-cut Christmas trees are being harvested in Wisconsin”
Awards for Excellence – Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
Best Specialty Programming
1st Place – “Wisconsin Lighthouses“
Best Use of Video
1st Place – “Wisconsin Life: Midwest Onewheel”
Best Website
1st Place – PBS Wisconsin Education, Civics
Best Topical Promotion
1st Place – Wisconsin Lighthouses – Family
Best Image Promotion
2nd Place – 2024 Year in Review
Best Feature
3rd Place – Wisconsin Life: Typewriter Poet
Best Use of Social Media
3rd Place – The Look Back Season 2 Launch
Eric Sevareid Awards – Medium Market Television – Midwest Broadcast Journalist Association (MBJA)
Talk/Public Affairs
1st Place – Here & Now for July 19, 2024
Lifestyle or Specialty Programming
1st Place – Wisconsin Life: Zócalo Food Park
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
1st Place – Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Beloit
Podcast
1st Place – Here & Now Podcasts
Documentary/Special
Award of Merit – Wisconsin Lighthouses
Broadcast Writing
Award of Merit – Joel Waldinger
General Reporting
Here & Now 2024
Rising Star for 2025
Angelina Shi – Interactive Media Producer
2023 WPR Awards
Excellence in Journalism Awards – Milwaukee Press Club
Best Short Hard Feature Story – Audio
Gold – “Flood control dams in Driftless Area failed after catastrophic rain. Some residents say a new approach is needed.” (Hope Kirwan)
Best Short Soft Feature Story – Audio
Gold – “‘I can express myself here’: Girls Rock Camp Madison builds community through music.” (Gaby Vinick)
Best Short Hard Feature Story – Digital
Gold – “The number of older people behind bars is skyrocketing in Wisconsin and across the country.” (Sarah Lehr)
Best Short Soft Feature Story – Digital
Gold – “Part of their world: Wisconsin’s ‘Mermaid Echo’ explains the tough work of performing with a tail” (Jonah Beleckis)
Best Series Reporting – Audio
Silver – “Home is Here” (Wisconsin Public Radio and The NEW News Lab)
Best Investigative Story or Series – Digital
Silver – “Wisconsin GOP official Gerard Randall questioned over no-bid contracts from Milwaukee Public Schools” (Corrinne Hess)
Best Sports Story – Digital
Bronze – “Wisconsin saw the nation’s steepest decline in football participation. Now some schools are getting creative” (Corrinne Hess)
Awards for Excellence – Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
Medium Market Radio News and Talk
Best Radio Show
1st Place “Route 51: Afghan Refugee Update, One Year Later” (Shereen Siewert, Joy Ratchkramer, Ezra Wall)
3rd Place “Simply Superior: The Naked Truth About Boys’ Swimming In School, And Rachael Kilgour’s Tribute To Her Dad” (Robin Washington)
Best Sports Play-by-Play
2nd Place “UW-Superior Men’s Hockey vs. St. Scholastica”
Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards – Radio Television Digital News Association
Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
“Home is Here” (Wisconsin Life and the NEW News Lab)
Investigative Reporting
“State Reviewing Milwaukee Business’s Suspicious Use of COVID Relief Funds” (Corrinne Hess)
News Documentary
“How We Got Here: Abortion in Wisconsin since 1849 “(Wisconsin Public Radio)
Excellence in Sound
“Oldest Lionel Railroad Club Chugs Along in New Berlin” (Jane Hampden)
Sports Reporting
“Lifting Spirits and Honoring Ancestors: Snow Snake is Back on Madeline Island” (Danielle Kading)
The Ambies – The Podcast Academy
Best Knowledge, Science, or Tech Podcast
Nominee – “To the Best of Our Knowledge Presents Luminous“