WLRN News has been honored with two wins in the prestigious 2024 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, for exclusive reports on the environment and on labor unions.
WLRN competes in Region 13, which comprises Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Last May, environment editor Jenny Staletovich broke the story of a worrying mystery in the Florida Keys: dozens of sawfish had been found dead, with over a hundred more reported in distress during a rare event that had also sickened more than 50.
Her report, "One of the rarest fish on the planet is dying in the Keys. Scientists are struggling to find out why," was named the winner in the Excellence in Writing category.
Investigative reporter Daniel Rivero was honored for his in-depth report on the consequences of Gov. Ron DeSantis' sweeping 2023 anti-union bill, which required most public sector unions to boost the rate of members paying dues or be disbanded. A year after it came into effect, he painstakingly put together data from across the state — and what he found was astonishing.
The story, "Tens of thousands of workers in Florida have just lost their labor unions. More is coming," was named the winner in the Investigative Reporting category.
Jenny and Daniel will now go on to compete in the 2024 National Edward R. Murrow Awards, which will be announced in August.
In 2023, Jenny won the national prize for the story "It takes a python to find a python: How researchers bagged the heaviest snake in Florida history," which revealed how researchers used radio trackers and sex pheromones to hunt a record-breaking Burmese python.
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