KBIA has won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage in the contest among small market radio stations in the country. The Radio Television Digital News Associationannounced the national award winners Tuesday morning.
KBIA won the award for its coverage of the rural hospital crisis in Missouri. Health Reporter Bram Sable-Smith covered this issue very closely last year, and continues to do so now. The award was for his 5-part series, “Urgent for Care: Can Missouri’s Poorest County Keep Its Hospital Alive?”
Also included in the entry was this investigative story, which looked into the company behind questionable billing practices at a rural Missouri hospital, analyzing its larger network across the country. That coverage led to coverage by numerous other news outlets across the country, and also was cited by other communities that were considering entering into business with the company after our stories were published. This investigation also included work from Dan Margolies at KCUR in Kansas City, and from others at KBIA: Emma Brown, Ryan Famuliner, James Gordon and Nathan Lawrence.
The award will presented at a Gala in New York City in October.
KBIA also won 9 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this year, the third most of any small market radio station in the country, including a win in the “Overall Excellence” category.
This is the fifth year in a row that KBIA has been honored with a National Murrow Award. KBIA won the national award for Excellence in Innovation in 2017, for best website in both 2014 and 2016, and for feature reporting in 2015. KBIA is the only small market station in the country to have won a national Edward R. Murrow Award in each of the last 5 years. KBIA also won a National Murrow Award for News Documentary in 2006 and for Investigative Reporting in 2007.