KOSU and StateImpact Oklahoma have won 29 awards from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter for stories that aired during 2020.
StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Robby Korth was given the "Carter Bradley First Amendment Award" for his work tracking the spread of the coronavirus in Oklahoma school districts during the 2020-21 school year.
"Korth took on a Herculean task last year that no one else attempted, including OSDH and SDE: cataloging and mapping all the schools that had to switch instruction methods due to COVID using publicly available information such as social media posts from the schools, crowdsourcing from listeners and school board meeting minutes," Tulsa World Education reporter and former OKSPJ President/current board member Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton said.
Korth was also awarded first place in the category of "Online: Interactive Graphic or Resource" for his database and accompanying map on that project.
Korth and former StateImpact Oklahoma criminal justice reporter Quinton Chandler took home second and third place, respectively, for the "Best of the Best: Best Broadcast Reporter" category.
It was a clean sweep in the 'Radio: General News' category, as Chandler took first place, while StateImpact's health reporter Catherine Sweeney took second and KOSU agriculture and rural issues reporter Seth Bodine took third.
- Chandler: Early release dates for Oklahoma prisoners just got pushed back
- Sweeney: A syphilis outbreak in south-central Oklahoma creates yet another strain on the state's public health system
- Bodine: Facial recognition is not just for your phone. It could be used to prevent livestock disease.
It was also a clean sweep in the 'Radio: Feature' category, as KOSU executive director Rachel Hubbard took first place, while Korth took second and Oklahoma Engaged's Katelyn Howard took third.
- Hubbard: How COVID-19 is making the holiday season not so jolly for Santa Clauses
- Korth: Oklahoma Arts Institute moves off Quartz Mountain and into students living rooms
- Howard: How the white evangelical protestant voting bloc impacts elections in Oklahoma
The category of "Radio: Government and Criminal Justice Reporting" also delivered a clean sweep, as Chandler took first place and KOSU Indigenous Affairs reporter Allison Herrera took second. Herrera and Krehbiel-Burton took home third.
- Chandler: 'We are still human beings': Oklahoma prisoners, officials adjust as COVID-19 spreads
- Herrera: extensive coverage of McGirt v. Oklahoma
- Herrera, Krehbiel-Burton: Muscogee Nation's family violence prevention program helps those in need
Another clean sweep was had in the "Radio: Special Program/ Interview/Talk Show" category, with Focus: Black Oklahoma taking first place, KOSU's Matthew Viriyapah taking second and StateImpact Editor Logan Layden and Sweeney taking third for their participation in an Oklahoma Engaged talk show.
- FBO: Lost Childhood: The Visible and Invisible Weight on North Tulsa Youth
- Viriyapah: Kyle Nix on Spaghetti Westerns, Fiddling & Turnpike Troubadours
- Dick Pryor, Layden, Sweeney, Keith Gaddie: Oklahoma Engaged LIVE: Voice Of The Voter Episode 3
The collaborative project Oklahoma Engaged swept the 'Radio: Election Reporting" category with Howard taking first and third place and KOSU's Kateleigh Mills and Korth taking second.
- Howard: Oklahoma Democrats face uphill battle to be competitive in state politics again
- Mills, Korth: Oklahoma teenagers want their voices heard to make the world a better place
- Howard: How fear and anxiety impact political behavior
In the category of "Radio: Investigative and Enterprise Reporting," Herrera took first place and Chandler took second for a collaboration with Oklahoma Watch.
- Herrera: How an Oklahoma law meant to protect fails mothers
- Chandler: Oklahoma City mental health emergencies outpace police trained to handle them
Chandler landed first place in the "Radio: Diversity Coverage" category, while Krehbiel-Burton was awarded second place for an Oklahoma Engaged story.
- Chandler: Oklahoma City leaders to reconsider police oversight following protests denouncing racial disparities
- Krehbiel-Burton: What Medicaid Expansion could mean for Oklahoma's Native American Tribes
KOSU Morning Edition host Michael Cross took home first place in the "Radio: Best Newscast" category and Layden was awardedfirst place in the 'Radio: Spot News" category.
For his collaboration with Oklahoma Watch, Chandler also took home first place in the category of "Newspaper A: In-depth Enterprise and Investigative Reporting."
Viriyapah took home second place in the "Online: Multimedia/Podcast" category.
The combined staffs of KOSU, KGOU and StateImpact took home third place in both categories of "Online: Breaking News Coverage" and "Online: Election Reporting".
KOSU has won more than 120 awards from Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists, Professional Chapter since 2011.
