WGCU wins awards in Florida radio broadcast competition in 2020

The WGCU news team won first place in four categories and “finalist,” or second place, in three others, for radio reporting in 2020.

The winners were announced Saturday, May 30, 2021, by the awarding entity, the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists.

The awards are as follows:
Winner, Breaking News, Individual: Julie Glenn, for “First Coronavirus Death Outside of West Coast.” LISTEN

Finalist, Team Coverage: “Election Day Coverage,” Julie Glenn, John Davis, Cary Barbor. LISTEN

Finalist, General Assignment: “DeSantis Talks Covid in Collier County,” Julie Glenn. LISTEN

Winner, Hard News Feature Reporting: “Naples Restaurants Re-open, Slightly,” Julie Glenn. LISTEN

Winner, Sports Reporting: “Moore Wrote the Book on Wheelchair Tennis,” Cary Barbor. LISTEN

Winner, Traffic/Transportation Reporting: “End of the Road for M-Co fres Toll Road,” Valerie Vande Panne. LISTEN

Finalist, in Political Government, Election Reporting Series: “U.S. House of Representative Seat Debate: Donalds vs. Banyi,” Julie Glenn, John Davis, Amy Williams. WATCH

“What makes these awards most impressive is that our very small staff competes directly with the entire state, including much larger newsrooms in top-ten markets, and we still manage to bring home the trophies,” said Julie Glenn, WGCU News Director.

“In a year when the news did not stop, every newsroom had an opportunity to report on the same topics and there was a record number of entries for all competitions, so being recognized is an honor. Every member of our team showed heart and grit in a tough year,” said Amy Shumaker, WGCU Associate General Manager of Content

The Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists, formerly known as Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, is a not-for-profit organization focused on honoring the craftsmanship and creativity of Florida’s professional and college-level broadcast journalists.