KOSU, StateImpact Oklahoma and Focus: Black Oklahoma picked up 18 awards from theOklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter for stories that aired during 2021.
StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Robby Korth was named "Best Broadcast Reporter" for his work in 2021, covering issues like tense school board meetings and how K-12 schools continued to be affected by the coronavirus.
In the 'Radio: General News' category, former StateImpact reporter Quinton Chandler took first place, while Korth's collaboration with The Oklahoman's Nuria Martinez-Keel took second.
- Chandler: Federal prisoners complain a private prison in Oklahoma isn’t following COVID-19 safety guidelines
- Korth & Martinez-Keel: Politics dial up intensity at Oklahoma school board meetings
In the 'Radio: Feature' category, Korth took first place and former KOSU agriculture reporter Seth Bodine took second.
- Korth: Oklahoma's cafeterias have been hit hard by the coronavirus
- Bodine: Mail-Order Chickens Usually Arrive In 3 Days, But Extreme Weather Derails Deliveries
It was a clean sweep in the category of "Radio: Investigative and Enterprise Reporting," as KOSU Indigenous Affairs reporter Allison Herrera took first place, while Bodine took second and StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Catherine Sweeney took third.
- Herrera: When Police Shoot Tribal Citizens On Muscogee Nation Land, Families Ask 'Who's Held Accountable?’
- Bodine: As marijuana industry in Oklahoma booms, rural utilities feel growing pains
- Sweeney: Oklahoma City’s arts scene is growing, but rising rents and COVID fallout are squeezing its artists
Herrera landed two more awards – first and second place – in the category of "Radio: Government and Criminal Justice Reporting."
- Herrera: Lighthorse Police Accept New Challenges, New Responsibilities With Expanded Jurisdiction
- Herrera: Quapaw Citizens Demand Transparency, Honesty With New and Past Administration
KOSU reporters took home two more awards in the "Radio: Diversity Coverage" category, as Herrera took first place and Bodine took second.
- Herrera: ‘We're not going anywhere': Choctaw Freedmen cite history, ties to Tribal Nation in fight for citizenship
- Bodine: After Decades Of Discrimination, Lawmakers Propose Justice For Black Farmers
It was a clean sweep in the "Radio: Special Program/ Interview/Talk Show" category, with Focus: Black Oklahoma taking first place, KOSU's Matthew Viriyapah taking second and KOSU's Michael Cross and contributors Neva Hill and Ryan Kiesel taking third for their weekly podcast and radio segment This Week in Oklahoma Politics.
- FBO: The Battle for Greenwood
- Viriyapah: ‘Fire in Little Africa:’ A Radio Special
- Cross, Hill & Kiesel: This Week in Oklahoma Politics
In the "Community Engagement" category, KOSU reporter Kateleigh Mills took first place for a vaccine information guide available in three languages — English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Mills and KOSU's Ryan LaCroix took second for their guide on where to get tested for COVID-19, which was launched during a late summer surge in 2021.
- Mills: Your guide to COVID-19 vaccine information
- Mills, LaCroix: Here’s where you can get tested for COVID-19
In the "Interactive Graphic or Resource" category, Korth, Sweeney and StateImpact editor Logan Layden took second place.
KOSU has won nearly 150 awards from Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter since 2011.
