Berkeley, Calif.-based Youth Radio has won the Radio and Television News Directors Association’s (RTNDA) prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for the news series “Making the Grade.” The award is given in honor of the “spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.”
“Making The Grade” ran in five parts: “Truancy Crackdown” by Anita Johnson; “College Debt” by Megan Williams; “Cheating” and “SAT and Basketball” by Tahira Simon; and “Summer School” by Reina Gonzales. All are graduates of Youth Radio’s training program, and of the reporters have had features aired on National Public Radio, and as individuals have had features and commentaries aired on KQED, KCBS, Z95.7 and WILD 94.9.
Youth Radio, led by former GAVIN Managing Editor Beverly Mire, is a nonprofit broadcast journalism training center focused on promoting young peoples’ intellectual, creative, and professional growth through training and access to media.
Commenting on the award, Mire said, “We have gotten a lot of recognition from public radio, and we’re thankful for that but this is validation by commercial radio and because RTNDA is an organization of journalists and media peers, this is like an actor getting an Academy Award. When you look at who won, it was us, CBS, ABC, and ESPN-that’s pretty great company.” Mire added that as a non-profit, the group is sustained by the generous tax-deductable donations made by organizations and individuals.
The number of children in the program varies, but Youth Radio reaches more than 1000 children per year with outreach and other programs. Young people in the program range in age from roughly 13 to 26.
