Contact: John Van Hoesen
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Colchester, Vt. July 2, 2008— Vermont Public Radio has been honored with a 2008 national Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. VPR’s news staff was recognized in the category of Continuing Coverage for its comprehensive reporting on climate change in 2007.

Thirteen representative stories were chosen for the entry out of more than 50 stories, interviews, programs and commentaries, including the week-long series, “The Changing Climate.” They included initiatives in the Vermont Legislature, coverage of the greenhouse gas emissions trial; a Vermont Edition program on carbon offsets, reports on the possible effects of climate change on Vermont’s ski and maple industries, an interview with author Bill McKibben, and even a story on "Climate Change, the Musical."

“We’re humbled and gratified with the recognition of this Murrow Award,” said Vermont Public Radio President Mark Vogelzang. “VPR’s listeners and contributors understand how important it is to support strong, independent news reporting in a region like Vermont. This award reflects VPR’s commitment to broad and in-depth regional news coverage.”

The award will be presented to VPR by the Radio-Television News Directors Association during a ceremony in New York City in October. The Continuing Coverage award is one of 12 national awards that will be presented in the small market radio category. In all, 54 radio and television news organizations are being honored with 77 awards out of an initial pool of 3,459 entries from several hundred news organizations.

The RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.

The 2008 award is Vermont Public Radio’s fifth national Edward R. Murrow award. VPR also was recognized this year with five 2008 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding news coverage.

Audio and text for VPR’s award-winning coverage are online at vpr.net.

VPR can be heard at 107.9 FM in Burlington, 89.5 FM in Windsor, 88.7 FM in Rutland, 88.5 FM in St. Johnsbury, 94.3 FM in Bennington, 92.5 in Manchester, 94.5 in Brattleboro, 95.3 in Middlebury, 94.1 in Montpelier and online at vpr.net.

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