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Congratulations and thank you: Michigan Emmy wins wrap up media award season

Group posing with Emmy statues
At the 46th Michigan Emmy Awards (L-R): Al Martin, Steven Boughton, Elena Sheperd, Jason Vlahos, Carol Yancho, Ashlee Smith, Scott Schoessel

Dear friend of WKAR,

March through June each year is an unofficial “awards season” for public and commercial media creators in Michigan. The spring of 2024 has been another bountiful awards season for the WKAR team.

The latest honors: five wins at the 46th Annual Michigan Regional Emmy® Awards, presented June 15 by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit.

The WKAR team headed into the awards gala with 12 nominations. They came away with an impressive collection of statues for their work on “Building the Reading Brain,” “Curious About Careers,” “Beyond the Score,” “Curious Crew,” and “Distinctly Michigan.“

Recognition of the new and expanding work of the WKAR team began in the spring with awards presented by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

Across two rounds of Broadcast Excellence Awards presented by the MAB in March and in April, WKAR received 14 Best in Category and nine Merit awards for the station’s work in 2023. WKAR was honored to be named Public Radio Group 2 Station of the Year. And -- for the twelfth time in thirteen years -- WKAR was named Michigan Public Television Station of the Year.

The month of May brought big wins for the WKAR news team. The reporters who bring you local and Michigan news every weekday on 90.5 and 102.3/AM870 Newstalk earned seven Excellence in Journalism awards from the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. WKAR journalists also won two Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards that month.

June brought wins for your WKAR news team in a national competition presented by the Public Media Journalists Association – including an award for one of our MSU student interns. The win is a testament to our award-winning staff’s commitment to mentoring and supporting the storytellers of the future.

When I look back on these remarkable achievements through these past months, I’m filled with pride in our team. The awards reflect their dedication to providing our viewers and listeners with exceptional news and information every day.

Please join me in congratulating your WKAR storytellers for their award-winning work creating the best in original television, radio, and digital content for our mid-Michigan and Spartan communities.

In closing, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to every individual donor and corporate partner of WKAR. Your unwavering support enables WKAR to continue creating high-quality, award-winning content that serves our community. Thank you.

Best,

signature: Shawn Turner

Shawn Turner
General Manager
WKAR Public Media

P.S.: Watch for my next post in mid-August. I’ll give you a sneak peek at new WKAR original shows, 2024 Election coverage from WKAR and NPR, and highlights of the upcoming season from PBS.

Shawn Turner is general manager of WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, serving Michigan’s capital region. Turner is also a professor of strategic communication at MSU.
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