KMUW’s expansion of local news has been recognized statewide by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. For the third year in a row, KMUW has earned the most prestigious award for Kansas major markets: “Radio Station of the Year.” The KAB honors are in categories such as Public Service Announcement, Public Affairs Program, Hard News Feature, News Feature, Spot News, Special Program, DJ Personality, and Editorial/Commentary (a category in which KMUW swept the awards).
“Now that KMUW has relocated to Old Town, we’ve begun increasing our engagement with the community, but we also now have increased capacity to produce more news pieces," says General Manager Debra Fraser. "We’re telling the story of Wichita and the world, and we hope to continue increasing that effort.”
This is a complete list of the awards for KMUW:
Large Market Radio: Station of the Year
1st place
- Public Service Announcement, “Engage ICT,” by Fletcher Powell
- Public Affairs Program, “Hesston: Sounds of Resilience,” by Aileen LeBlanc, Abigail Beckman, Deborah Shaar and Carla Eckels
- Special Program, “The Pieces that Remain: Remembering the Wichita State Plane Crash,” by Abigail Beckman
- Editorial/Commentary, “Sending Hugs and Kisses to Topeka,” by Richard Crowson
2nd place
- Spot News, “Students Speak Out Against Possible Closure,” by Abigail Wilson
- Editorial/Commentary, “Which Side Are You On?” by Zack Gingrich-Gaylord
Honorable Mention
- Public Affairs Program, “An Art and History Lesson: Red Bud Bike Trail,” by Carla Eckels
- Hard News Feature, “FAA Airport Weather Observers Series,” by Deborah Shaar
- News Feature, “'It’s Finally Setting In': Volunteer Firefighter Reflects on Massive Wildfire,” by Sean Sandefur
- Spot News, “Lattes Are Works Of Art At Barista Throwdown,” by Carla Eckels
- DJ Personality, Carla Eckels, host of Soulsations
- Editorial/Commentary, "Musical Space: The Blue Note," by Mark Foley
