WUSF News has been recognized with several national and regional journalism honors recently for its journalism in 2019.
WUSF won two second-place awards in the Public Media Journalists Association national contest. The awards recognize the best work in public media journalism from across the country and stations compete against others with similar-sized newsrooms. Overall, judges reviewed nearly 1,300 entries. The awards were for:
- Newscasts: All Things Considered co-host Lisa Peakes anchored the newscast that included a story from Jessica Meszaros on a federal lawsuit over the protection of endangered coral and breaking news about a rash of sinkholes in the region, including several shutting down traffic on Interstate 4. Mark Schreiner was the editor.
- Spot News: In The Eye Of Hurricane Dorian. Reporter Stephanie Colombini joined the NOAA Hurricane Hunters as they flew into the path of Hurricane Dorian. Her story focused on how the crews were making multiple trips into the slow-moving storm as it lingered off Florida and the Atlantic east coast.
WUSF also won three awards in the annual Green Eyeshade contest sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists for 11 southeastern states, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
- Feature Reporting, First Place: – Cathy Carter, After 90 Years, Greyhound Dog Racing Comes To An End In Sarasota. The story explored the life of workers who were preparing for the end of legal greyhound racing in Florida.
- Newscast - Second Place: – Lisa Peakes, Newscast - WUSF's All Things Considered
- Public Service in Radio Journalism, Third Place: WUSF Public Media – Julio Ochoa, Florida Fails To Open Methadone Clinics In Opioid Crisis. Ochoa, editor of Health News Florida, explored the lack of methadone clinics in Florida, especially in rural communities. His stories included spending a day with two women who travelled for more than an hour a day to get methadone needed to help them maintain their sobriety.
