Murrow awards are presented at the regional and national level. witf received six regional Murrow awards this year, the most in the region among radio and broadcast outlets in both the large and small market categories. The two stories receiving national awards competed with entries from 13 regions nationwide. The national awards will be presented in October at the RTDNA Awards Dinner in New York. RTDNA is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism.

Tim Lambert, witf’s Multimedia News Director, was cited for his work on the Hope in Handball story, and reporter Megan Lello, Craig Layne and Lambert were recognized for the Facing Cancer Together series. The awards are a first for Lello and Layne but the third national Murrow for Lambert.

“The talent and depth of reporting in witf’s newsroom is truly inspiring with a daily focus on people and really good story telling skills,” said Cara Williams Fry, witf’s Senior Vice President for Content. “Tim Lambert leads the witf team by example, hard work and a sound journalistic approach.”

witf President and CEO Kathleen Pavelko noted that “a national Murrow is one of the most coveted awards in electronic journalism. The fact that witf has been recognized nationally six times since 2007 demonstrates the quality of our commitment to All Things Regional.” witf 89.5 and 93.3 moves to an all news/information format as of June 25.

Hope In Handball is part of witf's Real Life | Real Issues multimedia project. The story focused on a unique mentoring program in central Pennsylvania that reaches out to low-income children through the sport of handball. As the story noted, “every minute they're on the court is a minute they're not on the street looking for something to do.”

Lambert noted that “witf works to bring stories that matter to listeners and to tell those stories in unique ways. Both Hope in Handball and Facing Cancer Together are perfect examples of how our newsroom aims to bring each story down to a personal level.” He added, “As for me, it's an unbelievable honor to have another one of my stories recognized on a national level. Just truly humbling."

Facing Cancer Together (FCT) is a research-based project with the goals of improving knowledge and changing behaviors about cancer and is a community education partnership of PinnacleHealth, WellSpan Health, Lancaster General Health and witf. FCT launched in April 2011 with original productions for TV, radio and print plus interactive web resources (including a Digital Quilt). Facing Cancer Together is entering its second year.

“witf is honored by the recognition these awards bring to the partners of the Facing Cancer Together project,” said Pavelko said. “This region is fortunate in the quality and commitment displayed by WellSpan Health, PinnacleHealth and Lancaster Health in clinical care, research and community health.”

witf has now been honored twice in the series category, twice in the sports reporting category and twice for hard news features:
• 2007 Flight 93: Five Years Later (Tim Lambert, Hard News Feature)
• 2009 Impact of War (Scott Detrow, News series)
• 2009 Luis Ramirez Beating Death (Tim Lambert, Hard News Feature)
• 2011 Beep Baseball (Scott Gilbert, Sports Reporting)
• 2012 Hope in Handball (Tim Lambert, Sports Reporting)
• 2012 Facing Cancer Together (Megan Lello, Craig Layne, Tim Lambert, News Series)  

Click here to read about the other awards that Facing Cancer Together has received.