Senior Producer Catie Talarski, Host John Dankosky and Producer Josie Holtzman show off their new awards!
by John Dankosky – WNPR’s Where We Live took first place in the “Call-in Show” category at this past weekend’s national awards ceremony for PRNDI – the Public Radio News Directors organization. The award is meaningful, because it is the only one of its kind for public radio programming.
Competing in “Division A,” WNPR shows are up against the big-time competition of stations in New York, Boston, California and Minnesota, and for the second time in its short history, Where We Live comes out on top! (We won the same category in 2007)
The winning entry, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” explored what it means to be a good neighbor, through the lens of the Times Square bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad.
Per usual, when he was “discovered” living in a suburban Connecticut home, his neighbors described him as “a quiet” and “nice” guy. Our question: How well do we know the people who live around us? Our guests were Mark Oppenheimer, host of WNPR’s new periodic series Paper Trails and Peter Lovenheim, author of “In The Neighborhood,” a book about finding out about one’s neighbors by sleeping over at their houses.
Where We Live also took second place in the “News and Public Affairs Show” category for “Sexual Assault on College Campuses.” This show came out of reporting by WNPR’s Diane Orson and the Center for Public Integrity about the widespread problem of rape and other assaults on campuses in Connecticut and elsewhere. The show prompted reaction and action from Wesleyan University, one of the schools highlighted.
I’d like to thank everyone involved in the production of our show over the last year, our management and our funders. But special thanks and congratulations go to Senior Producer Catie Talarski, the person who makes it all happen. Its her vision and drive that makes Where We Live a success.
Thanks also to current Producer Josie Holtzman and Producer Emerita Libby Conn Franklin (now working for KWMU’s St. Louis on the Air). And a big thanks to our listeners and callers. To be voted the best “call-in” show in the country multiple times means that we must have some award-winning people who contribute their thoughts and ideas, their tough questions and personal stories. I can’t thank you enough.
congrats, everyone! well deserved.