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KYUK Wins National AP Award, Two Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards

The KYUK staff poses for a group photo in December 2019 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile
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KYUK

Springtime means journalism awards season, and the season has brought KYUK national, regional, and statewide honors for work produced in 2019. KYUK won a national first place award from the Associated Press Television and Radio Association, two 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow awards, and 13 statewide Alaska Press Club awards.

KYUK, in collaboration with Alaska Public Media, received first place nationally for Best Use of Videography for the video "Bringing Water to Lower Kalskag" from the 2019 Associated Press Television and Radio Association broadcast contest.

  • Description: Imagine living in a town where only some of the residents have running water. Everyone else has to fetch water with a bucket. That’s been the reality in Lower Kalskag, a village in Western Alaska, until now. This year [2019], homes that have never had sinks or flushing toilets are getting hooked up. KYUK’s Greg Kim reports on how that’s changing people’s lives.
  • Watch: “Bringing Water to Lower Kalskag"

KYUK received two 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for a video honoring the legacy of a Yup’ik dance legend, and another for a radio feature celebrating Bethel’s love for a champion.

KYUK, in collaboration with Alaska Public Media, won a 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow award for Excellence in Video for the short film “The Legacy Of MaryAnn Sundown And Agnes Aguchak.”

  • Description: The Scammon Bay dancers returned to the Cama-i stage for the first time since their Elder, Maryann Sundown, passed away in 2011. She was well known as a Dance Diva, and her performances connected people through laughter. Maryann and her sister, Agnes Aguchak, left behind a unique comedic legacy in Yup’ik dance. The subtle motions, deadpan facial expressions, and downright slap-stick humor is extremely visual and can be seen in this video produced by KYUK and Alaska Public Media.
  • Watch: “The Legacy Of MaryAnn Sundown And Agnes Aguchak”

KYUK received a 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow award for Excellence in Sound for the radio feature “Bethel Gives Hero’s Welcome To Iditarod Champion Pete Kaiser.”

  • Description: When Iditarod champion Pete Kaiser returned to his home town of Bethel, Alaska following his historic 2019 mushing victory, the town flocked to the small, one-gate airport to greet him with a hero’s welcome. Kaiser is the first musher of Yup’ik Alaska Native descent to win the approximately 1,000-mile long sled dog race.
  • Listen: “Bethel Gives Hero’s Welcome To Iditarod Champion Pete Kaiser”
Musher Pete Kaiser greets fans at the Alaska Airlines terminal on March 18, 2019 in Bethel, Alaska after returning home from winning the 2019 Iditarod.
Credit Gabby Salgado / KYUK
/
KYUK
Musher Pete Kaiser greets fans at the Alaska Airlines terminal on March 18, 2019 in Bethel, Alaska after returning home from winning the 2019 Iditarod.

The Murrow Awards are awarded by the Radio Television Digital News Association and are considered to be among the most respected journalism awards in the world. The RTDNA describes the awards as "the embodiment of the values, principles and standards set forth by Edward R. Murrow, a journalism pioneer who set the standards for the highest quality of broadcast journalism."

KYUK will be advancing to the National Murrow award competition.

KYUK has also received 13 statewide journalism awards from the Alaska Press Club for work produced in 2019. Find the full list of KYUK’s Alaska Press Club Awards here.

We share these awards with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Every story is a collaboration between the people involved in the story, the reporting team, and the audience. Quyana for supporting KYUK, and for sharing your experiences, questions, insights, and stories with us.

Anna Rose MacArthur served as KYUK's News Director from 2015-2022.
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