PORTLAND, Ore. — The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has honored KGW with a 2020 National Edward R. Murrow Award. KGW was the only Portland television station recognized and awarded regionally and nationally this year.
KGW was honored for a feature story by anchor Laural Porter and photojournalist Kurt Austin that looked at a man dealing with Alzheimer's disease and how a local pianist provided key support. This story was also honored in the 2019 Associated Press Broadcasters contest for best feature story.
“The National Edward R. Murrow award is one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. It is a true honor to be considered one of the top televisions stations nationwide,” said Steve Carter, KGW president and general manager. “Each day we take our responsibility to the community very seriously and we’re honored and humbled to be recognized with this coveted award.”
“As a newsroom, we work every day to report the facts, find inspiring stories, and provide more context and nuanced perspectives across all of our platforms. We’re re-thinking what local news can be,” said KGW news director Greg Retsinas. “This honor recognizes the unique content that we are sharing with our audience.”
KGW also won three regional Murrow awards this year:
- Breaking News – “Parkrose High School coach stops student with a gun.”
KGW won a regional award for its breaking news coverage of a local high school coach stopping a student who had brought a shotgun to the campus. The May 2019 incident at Parkrose High School in Portland led to initial panic and concern in the community, but came to a safe resolution, thanks to the quick action of the school's football coach, Keanon Lowe.
- Excellence in Innovation – “Did Fred Meyer Really Give Away a Baby?”
KGW was also recognized for excellence in innovation at the regional level for the creation of a unique story about a contest that the grocery store chain, Fred Meyer, held seven decades ago. The story was written and narrated by KGW reporter Kyle Iboshi and edited by Gene Cotton in a visually creative way, utilizing the artistic skill of KGW art director Jeff Patterson. It took viewers back through time visually and revealed what happened when the grocery store advertised giving away a free baby.
- Podcast – “Urge to Kill”
And finally, KGW was recognized with a regional award for its true-crime podcast, Urge to Kill, that followed the rape and murder of 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer. Her murderer would go on to terrorize several other families in a multi-state crime spree. The team sat down with his victims who had survived the attacks. The 10-episode podcast was hosted by KGW anchor Ashley Korslien and written, researched and edited with assistance from producers Mila Mimica and Destiny Johnson and editing by Zachary Carver. It takes listeners on an audio journey through the twists and turns of the killer's crime spree.
Prior to this year’s win, the last national Murrow award winner was in 2011 for “A Long Journey”, a feature report by KGW anchor Laural Porter and photojournalist Kurt Austin.
RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession.
