We’re both energized and grateful to announce that KNOM Radio Mission took home five awards — four for excellence in broadcasting and one for the dedication of our general manager — at the November 2015 convention of the Alaska Broadcasters Association in Anchorage. Thanks to you, the work that our volunteers and staff produce is making waves not only within rural Alaska but throughout our state.
This year, ABA’s broadcasting awards — their “Goldies” — shined the spotlight on KNOM’s news and public affairs programming, in particular. KNOM AM-FM received four Goldie wins: one for an entire program, KNOM Update News, our flagship news series — which won for Best Radio Newscast — and the other three for specific stories or broadcasts. Each of these three, we believe, are examples of the incredible service your support makes possible.
Our in-house Alaska storytelling series, Story49, took home a Goldie in the Best Community Service category for an episode focusing on racial equity and understanding. The program involved a heartfelt, in-depth conversation on sometimes-difficult topics, and it was a collaboration between KNOM’s news and programming department — 2014-2015 volunteers Jenn Ruckel and Kristin Leffler, in particular — with members of the Nome community.
KNOM’s outgoing news director, Matthew Smith, received two nods at the ABA show for specific stories in early 2015. One of Matt’s “package stories” from the thick of this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race — a story entitled “Mushers Traverse The Mighty Yukon in Race to Ruby” — took home a Goldie for Best Sportscast. Hear Matt’s award-winning story using the audio player below:
Matthew’s story on this winter’s halted helicopter transportation to the tiny, remote community of Diomede, Alaska — “Three Weeks, No Flights: Diomede Residents Stranded without Mail, Food Deliveries” — won a Goldie for Best Uniquely Alaskan Program. Some of our newsletter readers may recognize this incredible story of Diomede — one of the most remote places in the world, a community perched along an island cliff in the Bering Strait, overlooking the International Date Line and the eastern border of Russia — from our March and April 2015 issues of the Static.
Finally, general manager Ric Schmidt, as pictured, received ABA’s President’s Award, which is “in recognition of and appreciation for outstanding contributions to the Alaska Broadcasters Association.” (Thanks to ABA’s Cathy Hiebert for the photo!)
We’re so grateful to you for making possible the work that prompted these awards, and as always, we share them with you and with all of our supporters, listeners, and community members. To learn more about the programs that took home Goldies this year — and to listen to them! — explore the links within this article. Thank you so much, and congratulations!
