WITF story honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award

The Spark

WITF and Tim Lambert received some good news last week. Tim’s story about his father being one of the last living witnesses to a unique atomic test in the 1950’s was honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award for best use of sound.

Director of Journalism Scott Blanchard who was Tim’s editor for the project sat down with Asia Tabb to talk about the impact of this story.

“The Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious in the industry. The Radio Television News Directors Association presents Murrow Awards for first in 14 regions across the US. Broken down by the size of the market a station serves, and then the regional honorees are judged, and one story is recognized as the best among all regions in its market size. As the organization says, stories must uphold the RTDNA Code of ethics, demonstrate technical expertise, and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community, so they honor the dedication and excellence that broadcaster Edward R Murrow was known for. This is the seventh time that Tim has received a national Murrow, and the 18th time for WITF since 2007. So, it's a big deal to be honored on a regional level. And in fact, Tim Story received three regional awards for sound digital presentation and for Feature Story. And I want to take a minute to note that the, did digital producer Jeremy Long, graphic designer Tom Downing, and videographer Doug Watson all played key roles in the project.”

The story called “A Pennsylvania man saw the true power of Atomic Annie,” is about Tim’s father, who was in the Army, witnessing a nuclear test in the Nevada desert in 1953.

“It was the only time that a tactical nuclear device was fired from a cannon. So it was a massive logistical undertaking. And a lot of that comes through in Tim's story. And in May 1953, when that test took place, the Korean War was on going, and North Korea and Russia were paying really close attention to what the U.S was doing. So, as you'll hear, the historian that Tim talked to, you say the U.S. was very much sending a message to those adversaries with this test. So this is a fascinating story about Tom Lambert's personal experience amid the bigger picture. Of this, event that had such international impact. And it's also a story that lives in American cultural history, the whole atomic age.”

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