HARRISBURG, Pa.— WLVR Radio was named outstanding news operation and captured 14 awards, including best newscast and best digital presence, in the annual Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Professional Keystone Media Awards.
The radio station, along with PBS39 and LehighValleyNews.com, is part of nonprofit Lehigh Valley Public Media.
PBS39 also received recognition for two programs and a LehighValleyNews.com feature story won a first-place prize.
The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association announced its 2024 award winners Tuesday.
In all, more than a dozen Lehigh Valley Public Media broadcasters and journalists were recognized for work between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.
WLVR’s awards came in the contest’s small market radio division. Awards included:
Best newscast, first place: Megan Frank, Brad Klein, Olivia Marble and Julian Abraham.
Best spot news coverage, first place: Julian Abraham and Brad Klein, "The Debrief: Behind the scenes of a dramatic Allentown rescue," which detailed the rescue of a worker trapped in a trench collapse in Allentown.
Best continuing coverage, first place: Ryan Gaylor, "Bethlehem church merger," about the consolidation of three Lutheran churches and sale in South Bethlehem.
Best series, first place: Andy Hicks, Doing My Job featuring Ann Roth.
Best series, second place: Christine Dempsey and Devan Kortan, Flight Club.
Best enterprise reporting, honorable mention: Brad Klein, "Visions of home drive Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound."
Best feature, second place: Olivia Marble, "Seeds of Lehigh Valley LGBTQ history planted even before Stonewall rebellion."
Best regularly scheduled news or sports talk program, first place: Megan Frank and Christine Dempsey, Insights with LehighValleyNews.com.
Best digital presence, first place: WLVR, Christine Dempsey.
Best sports feature, first place: Jay Bradley, "Emerging high school esports highlight teamwork, skills – and a new horizon of competition."
Best use of photography, first place: Molly Bilinski and Grace Oddo, "Best spots for a spectacular fall foliage tour of the Lehigh Valley."
Best use of photography, second place: Molly Bilinski and Grace Oddo, "Wonderful gifts we get from nature: Why Lehigh Valley residents should consider ‘leaving the leaves.’"
Best use of sound, first place: Andy Hicks, Doing My Job featuring Christian F. Martin IV.
Best use of sound, second place: Julian Abraham, "40 years later Bill Joel’s ‘Allentown’ still elicits strong emotions in the Lehigh Valley."
LehighValleyNews.com
Outside of radio, Abraham also captured first place for best feature story in the news media association’s print and digital divisions with his LehighValleyNews.com story, “In tiny Riegelsville, Halloween flash mob is a world-class production.”
LehighValleyNews.com education reporter Jenny Roberts also was recognized for her work with her prior job. She received an honorable mention in the breaking news category for her Morning Call story, “Shootings leave 2 dead, 6 wounded,” about a night of gun violence in Allentown last Dec. 29.
PBS39
In the television contest, PBS39 (WLVT-TV) won first place in the best feature category for the "Lehigh Valley Rising" segment, Dorney Park from the Business of Fun.
Reporter Brittany Sweeney and the PBS39 staff earned honorable mention in the best regularly scheduled news or sports talk program category for “Community Conversation: Mideast Crisis Hits Home.” It aired last October after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
The Professional Keystone Media Awards are run by the PNA Foundation. The awards ceremony will be held during a luncheon Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel.