WEWS NewsChannel 5, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, continues to be honored for excellence in broadcast and digital journalism. The station has earned two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in addition to the George Foster Peabody Award announced earlier this month.
Edward R. Murrow Awards
NewsChannel 5 Chief Investigator Ron Regan earned an Edward R. Murrow Award for “Operation Deep Freeze,” an exclusive 5 On Your Side Investigation which probed the link between a nuclear power plant and veterans with cancer. Immediately after the report aired, Senator Sherrod Brown pressed Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki to look into whether veterans are eligible for service-related compensation due to radiation exposure at McMurdo. Meanwhile Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ordered hearings into the matter.
In addition, NewsChannel 5’s earned an Edward R. Murrow Award for its website, newsnet5.com. The site, the first television website in Ohio, is nearing its 15th anniversary and has earned numerous industry awards during the past few years.
George Foster Peabody Award
The aforementioned “Operation Deep Freeze” also earned a prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, originally
announced on April 4th. Awarded to only four local news organizations across the United States for 2011, this Peabody reflects the collective work of Chief Investigator Ron Regan and the 5 On Your Side Investigators team, which includes Executive Producer Mel Watson, Multi-Media Journalist Dave Hatala, Multi-Media
Journalist Dave Arnold, and Special Projects Editor Rob Gardner.
“Both the Murrow and Peabody awards validate the great work generated by our 5 On Your Side Investigators team,” said Jill Manuel, News Director at NewsChannel 5. “These honors also reflect our station’s passion for and overall commitment to advocacy journalism and public service.”
“Scripps and NewsChannel 5 are committed to quality, investigative journalism,” adds Sam Rosenwasser, the station’s VP and General Manager. “The biggest winners are the people of Northeast Ohio and anyone who engages with our content on any of our platforms.”
Chief Investigator Ron Regan and his team were among 38 total recipients of the 71st Annual Peabody Awards announced April 4th by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners were chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for the year 2011, and the ceremony will take place in May in New York.