WAER work on disaster relief, Palestinian protests, voter registration problems, the opioid epidemic and Coach Mac earned professional recognition this past week.
The Syracuse Press Club honored Sean Tessler with the first place award for best human-interest story for his piece, How Marathon New York is providing relief for Hurricane Helene victims.
Judges said there was excellent use of sound that took the listener there.
A Syracuse Speaks segment, Deep Dive into the Opioid Epidemic earned first place in the special audio program category. Judges called the work of John Smith, Scott Willis, Kat Kollins, Bob Beck and Natasha Senjanovic informative and heart-breaking.
Senjanovic was also honored for best audio news feature for SU student faced sanctions over Palestinian protests. Judges said the story took a complicated tale and made it understandable and interesting, told story from all sides. In the same category, Willis took second place for Onondaga County voter registration soars; election commissioners request more staff.
WAER Sports didn't go home empty handed. Tyler Aitken's Remembering Syracuse Football Coach Dick MacPherson was deemed best sports story. Judges praised it as a wonderful profile of an inspiring coach.
All winners received recognition and awards at the Syracuse Press Club Awards dinner, on May 3rd.