News | April 19, 2018

CommunityFaculty and StaffNewsWGCU

WGCU reporters dominate state broadcast awards

2 - minute read

WGCU-FMreporters recently won nine awards in 11 categories in the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters’ 2018 competition, for reports aired Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2017.

The individual honors follow WGCU’s recognition as Radio Station of the Year, announced by the same organization in mid-May. That award reflects excellence in overall news coverage and the newsroom’s service to the community through news and volunteerism. The station and reporters compete in a category for smaller markets; larger-market stations compete in a separate group.

At a ceremony April 14, WGCU reporters won six first-place and three second-place awards, dominating the nonprofit Florida Associated Press Broadcasters’ competition along with WUFT of Gainesville. Local winners, the award categories and titles of the broadcasts were:

The WGCU news team had a remarkable year in many respects, perhaps most notably as Hurricane Irma bore down on Southwest Florida in September and on- and off-air staff ensured that the station remained a reliable source of local information until the storm clouds had passed.

Interim FM News Director Julie Glennrecognized the hurricane days as a time of cohesion that characterizes the WGCU staff. “Mutual respect brought out the best – not just during a time of crisis but throughout the year,” she said. “It has been beautiful seeing each person in this newsroom step up to help one another shine – it’s a work culture many strive for and few are able to achieve, so we are very lucky.”

The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative representing 1,400 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States. Thirty-seven broadcast organizations submitted 597 entries in the contest, which featured news, sports and weather stories.

WGCU Public Media is a member-supported service of Florida Gulf Coast University.

photo shows the news staff of WGCU-FM
WGCU FM news staff: Producer and Daytime Host Mike Kiniry; Interim FM Programming Director/Production Manager Richard Chin-Quee; Producer, Daytime Host and Reporter Rachel Iacovone; “Morning Edition” Host and Reporter John Davis; “Morning Edition” Host and reporter Quincy Walters; Interim News Director and “Gulf Coast Live” Host Julie Glenn; “All Things Considered” Host and reporter Jessica Meszaros.
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