MACON – Adam Ragusea, Macon bureau chief for GPB Radio – one of Mercer University's partners in the Center for Collaborative Journalism (CCJ) – and soon-to-be full-time faculty member at the Center, has received a 2014 national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).
Ragusea, who has hosted NPR's “Morning Edition” for GPB Macon since 2012, won the award for writing in the large-market radio category. It was GPB's first-ever national Edward R. Murrow Award.
“It speaks to the caliber of work that GPB and the CCJ are doing that a story from Macon, Georgia, received such recognition over competing entries from the biggest broadcasters in the biggest markets across the country,” he said. “Everyone who supports GPB should know they helped make this happen, and those high school juniors and seniors who want to study media in college should take note – Mercer is now the place to be.”
Ragusea's award-winning story, “All Quiet, One Year After Kroger Shooting,” was his Dec. 20, 2013, first-person reflection on the shooting of a man outside a Macon Kroger store by a Macon police officer in December 2012.
Named after the broadcast journalist who rose to prominence with his radio coverage of World War II and was a pioneer of television news broadcasting, the Edward R. Murrow Awards recognize outstanding work produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world.
The RTDNA, the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism, represents local and network journalists in broadcasting, cable and digital media in more than 30 countries. Founded in 1946, the association has been annually presenting the awards since 1971.
This year, the RTDNA awarded 98 national Edward R. Murrow Awards in 13 categories, including overall excellence, breaking news and investigative reporting. The association received more than 4,000 entries during the 2014 awards season.
National awards will be presented in New York City on Oct. 6.
Ragusea, who has mentored Mercer journalism students since his arrival at GPB, will become a full-time clinical faculty member in the CCJ this fall.
About GPB
As one of the largest PBS stations in the nation, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB Media), has been creating content worth sharing for over 50 years. With nine television stations, 17 radio stations and a multi-faceted web presence, GPB strives to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of our viewers and listeners with programming that includes statewide radio news, current affairs, high school sports, educational resources for teachers and students and enlightening programs about our state like “Georgia Outdoors,” “Georgia Traveler” and “On the Story.”
About the Center for Collaborative Journalism
The Center for Collaborative Journalism (CCJ) is a unique partnership between Mercer University, The Telegraph and Georgia Public Broadcasting, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Peyton Anderson Foundation. The Center's groundbreaking collaboration has students, faculty and veteran journalists working together in a joint newsroom. Learning in a “teaching hospital” model, students engage the community using the latest digital tools and leave with a strong portfolio of published work.
