United States Agency for Global Media

2019 National Murrow Award presented to RFE/RL

October 15, 2019

Washington, D.C. — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has received the 2019 Edward R. Murrow Award for Multimedia in the Television Network category by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The award was received by Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Daisy Sindelar during the annual RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala in New York on October 14.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly welcomed the Murrow Award, one of the most respected journalism prizes in the world: “This award is just the latest example of RFE/RL’s work and journalists receiving significant recognition as we advance our mission of delivering the truth to our audiences about topics that are often neglected by other media outlets.”

Sindelar said she was “very proud to be in New York receiving RFE/RL‘s first Murrow Award. From Russia’s energy empire to corruption in Ukraine and rare glimpses of Uzbekistan, RFE/RL covers some of the world’s most important stories. Our talented journalists combine unforgettable images with maximum impact in all 22 countries where we work.”

The Edward R. Murrow Awards, presented by the RTDNA since 1971, are the embodiment of the values, principles and standards set forth by Edward R. Murrow, a pioneer of journalism in the U.S. who set the standards for the highest quality of broadcast journalism. Winning the award, as explained by RTDNA Executive Director Dan Shelley, “means that a news organization has provided exemplary public service to its viewers, listeners and readers.”

Murrow Awards are presented to organizations, based on a specific body of work submitted for judging to the RTDNA. The eleven examples of exceptional news reporting and journalistic skill submitted by RFE/RL included the following:

Catch Carlos If You Can — RFE/RL enterprise editor Carl Schreck’s collaborative investigation with Romanian investigators at the RISE Project into a mysterious Twitter persona linked to pro-Moscow versions of the MH17 airline crash.

Caught Up In A Revolution — RFE/RL photojournalist Amos Chapple’s visual story of covering the Armenian Revolution in April 2018.

Forest Reclaiming Abkhaz Ghost Town — a video project by RFE/RL multimedia editor Stuart Greer, originally produced by RFE/RL for the Russian-language Current Time TV network, about how the forest has slowly taken over a former mining town.

Leningrad’s Lost Photographer — a photo gallery compiled by RFE/RL photojournalist Amos Chapple that weaves together the remarkable story and images of Masha Ivashintsova (1942-2000), whose work was discovered in an attic in 2017 by a relative who stumbled upon dusty boxes of negatives and undeveloped film.

#MeToo In Belarus: Ex-Teammates Bolster Korbut’s Sexual-Assault Charges Against Coach — originally written for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service by Alyaksandra Dynko, and versioned into English by RFE/RL editor Pete Baumgartner, the article features exclusive RFE/RL interviews with former teammates of legendary Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut, who says she was sexually abused by her longtime coach, Renald Knysh. 

Pipeline From Hell? Nord Stream 2 And Why It’s So Contentious — an interactive project created by RFE/RL digital team members Carlos Coelho, Wojtek Grojec, and Coilin O’Connor that presents a complete picture of what the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is and why it’s a hot political issue.

Putin’s ‘State Of The Nation’ Speech: Annotated — An examination by RFE/RL senior correspondent Rob Coalson and enterprise editor Carl Schreck of the substance of Putin’s annual address, with fact-checking and analysis in both English and Russian for the Current Time TV network (visualized by digital editor Wojtek Grojec, edited by news editor Andy Heil).

The Remains Of Stalin’s Dead Road – A photo story by RFE/RL photojournalist Amos Chapple of Russia’s arctic wilderness and what remains of one of the Soviet Union’s most tragic gulag projects.

Russian Arms Deals — an infographic by RFE/RL data journalist Carlos Coelho that neatly lays out who the biggest buyers were of Russian weapons between 2016 and 2017.

Tragedy On Sunshine Street: One Ukrainian Family’s Fight For Justice — a report by RFE/RL correspondent Chris Miller (visualized by digital editor Wojtek Grojec, edited by news editor Andy Heil) of Ukrainian lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska, who fought to keep her sister’s killer behind bars only to have her own life end in what appears to have been a targeted killing.

Uzbekistan’s Forbidden Art Treasures — a video project by RFE/RL photojournalist Amos Chapple and multimedia editor Margot Buff that journeys into the Uzbek desert, where a collection of art once banned by Soviet authorities found refuge.

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