The award for News Documentary was for “Focus: Report from Kuwait.” The program was a look at the work being performed by the Virginia National Guard’s 116th Brigade Troops Battalion. The Fredericksburg-based unit had been deployed several months earlier to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. The report was a collaboration with The Free Lance-Star reporter Rusty Dennen and photographer Mike Morrones who were embedded with the troops. WFLS News reporter Deirdre Blake anchored and produced the program. The program was broadcast last March.
WFLS News anchor and reporter Niche Herman received two Murrow Awards.
The first in the category of Feature: Hard News for “In the Line of Duty” a report from the funeral of Fredericksburg Police Officer Todd Bahr.
Herman also received a Murrow Award in the category Sports Reporting for “Rudy.” The story centered on inspirational football hero Rudy Ruettiger who showed up to offer a pep talk last September to the A.G. Wright Middle School football team.
The Radio-Television News Directors Association has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession.
All three regional winners are now finalists in their respective categories for the national 2009 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award.