At a moment when radio is spending an uncomfortable amount of time talking about shrinking newsrooms, eliminated positions, centralized content and whether expensive local journalism can still be justified, several of America’s great news brands just delivered the industry’s answer from the biggest stage in broadcast journalism. KIRO Newsradio in Seattle, KNX News in Los Angeles, KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia, 830 WCCO in Minneapolis and WBUR in Boston are among the recipients of the 2026 National Edward R. Murrow Awards, and we’d argue the significance goes well beyond another plaque for the trophy case. These awards recognize something radio desperately needs to protect: reporters being given the time, resources and responsibility to actually report.
This is a win for five stations.
But today, it feels like a win for radio journalism itself.
The Murrow Name Still Means Something
There are plenty of awards in media.
The Edward R. Murrow Awards occupy different territory.
Presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Murrows recognize outstanding work in broadcast and digital journalism.
And carrying Edward R. Murrow’s name creates an awfully high bar.
Accuracy.
Courage.
Storytelling.
Public service.
Journalistic integrity.
Those aren’t particularly fashionable buzzwords.
They’re the foundation.
That’s why seeing radio stations recognized nationally in 2026 deserves considerably more attention than a congratulatory social-media graphic.
KIRO Newsradio Wins When Breaking News Is Actually Breaking
Seattle’s KIRO Newsradio earned national recognition for Breaking News Coverage in the Large Market Radio category.
Think about what breaking news requires from a newsroom.
There isn’t time for the perfectly polished package.
The facts are changing.
Information is arriving from multiple directions.
Rumors are flying.
Social media is moving faster than verification.
The audience wants answers immediately.
And the newsroom has to accomplish two things that increasingly seem incompatible:
Be fast and be right.
That’s the job.
Breaking-news excellence isn’t merely about being first.
It’s knowing what you can responsibly report at 2:03 that you couldn’t confirm at 2:01.
It’s having reporters who know the community.
Editors who know when to hold something back.
Anchors capable of processing information in real time without creating more confusion.
Producers keeping the entire machine moving.
KIRO’s national recognition is ultimately recognition of that entire system working when the pressure was highest.
830 WCCO Shows Why You Don’t Stop Covering a Story After Day One
Then there’s 830 WCCO in Minneapolis.
Its national Murrow came for Continuing Coverage.
We love that category because it recognizes something increasingly difficult in the modern attention economy.
Staying with the story.
The cameras arrive.
Everybody covers the breaking development.
The headline dominates social media.
Then something newer happens.
Everybody leaves.
But the consequences of major stories don’t disappear because the news cycle gets bored.
Continuing coverage means going back.
What happened next?
Who was affected?
Did anything change?
Were promises kept?
What does this mean six days later?
Six weeks later?
That’s journalism requiring patience.
And patience costs money.
WCCO’s recognition is a reminder that sometimes the most important reporting happens after everyone else has stopped looking.
KYW Newsradio Takes Hard News
Philadelphia’s KYW Newsradio was honored nationally for Hard News.
That category practically describes KYW’s DNA.
Philadelphia has heard that station deliver information through generations of mornings, elections, storms, emergencies, political fights, tragedies and enormous local stories.
Hard news isn’t glamorous every day.
Sometimes it requires sitting through meetings.
Reading documents.
Making another phone call.
Checking something again.
Finding the person who actually knows the answer rather than the person most eager to give you one.
Then turning all of that work into something understandable through a speaker.
That’s craftsmanship.
For a heritage all-news operation like KYW, a national Murrow is another reminder that the fundamentals of great radio journalism haven’t become obsolete simply because the devices delivering that journalism have changed.
KNX News Wins the Category Every News Station Lives Every Day
Los Angeles’ KNX News earned Best Newscast.
Now that is a radio award.
Because the newscast is where everything meets.
Writing.
Reporting.
Anchoring.
Producing.
Timing.
Audio.
Weather.
Traffic.
Breaking developments.
Story selection.
Judgment.
Pacing.
You may have only minutes to explain an enormous world.
What’s first?
What gets twenty seconds?
What deserves two minutes?
What does Los Angeles absolutely need to know right now?
A great newscast sounds effortless.
It isn’t.
Behind those few minutes can be an entire newsroom making dozens of decisions almost simultaneously.
KNX winning nationally for that fundamental piece of the radio-news product is a significant accomplishment.
And Then There Is WBUR
Boston’s WBUR received Overall Excellence.
That title says plenty by itself.
Overall Excellence isn’t about one extraordinary report that happened to catch lightning.
It’s about the larger product.
The newsroom.
The journalism.
The execution.
The consistency.
The body of work.
At a time when public media faces its own enormous financial and strategic pressures, recognition of sustained newsroom excellence carries additional weight.
Because journalism cannot survive on reputation alone.
Somebody still has to fund it.
Somebody still has to staff it.
Somebody still has to believe it’s worth doing.
Here’s the Part Corporate Radio Should Put on the Conference Room Screen
These awards arrive during a brutal period for radio employment.
We’ve spent far too much of this year writing about talented people losing jobs.
Programmers.
Personalities.
Producers.
Reporters.
News directors.
People with decades invested in this industry.
And whenever reductions reach news operations, somebody inevitably makes the argument that listeners can get information somewhere else.
Of course they can.
People have more access to information than at any point in human history.
That’s exactly why trustworthy journalism is more valuable.
The problem isn’t finding information anymore.
The problem is determining what information deserves to be believed.
That’s where professional newsrooms matter.
You Cannot Automate Trust
Technology can summarize.
AI can process information.
A computer can read headlines.
Software can aggregate thousands of sources before a human being finishes breakfast.
Fantastic.
Use those tools.
Make journalists faster.
Help newsrooms research.
Help producers organize.
Help reporters transcribe.
Help editors find things.
But don’t confuse information processing with journalism.
A computer cannot stand outside city hall and develop sources for fifteen years.
It doesn’t know when the mayor’s answer doesn’t smell right because the reporter remembers what happened eight years ago.
It doesn’t build trust with a grieving family.
It doesn’t understand a neighborhood simply because its language model has read about that neighborhood.
Local institutional knowledge matters.
Human judgment matters.
Trust matters.
And these Murrow-winning stations demonstrate what happens when those things are still treated as valuable.
Radio Has One Enormous Advantage It Should Stop Apologizing For
Immediacy.
When something enormous happens, radio can still be extraordinarily powerful.
No video required.
No scrolling required.
You can be driving.
Working.
Cleaning the kitchen.
Sitting in traffic.
Running from a storm.
And one voice can tell you:
Here’s what happened
Here’s what we know
Here’s what we don’t know
Here’s what you need to do
That’s intimate.
That’s immediate.
That’s useful.
And when it’s done by a newsroom that has earned credibility over decades, it’s difficult to replace.
These Awards Belong to More People Than the Names on the Entries
This needs to be said.
Congratulations to the reporters.
Absolutely.
Congratulations to the anchors.
But also
Congratulations to the producers.
The editors.
Assignment desks.
News directors.
Digital teams.
Photographers and video journalists where applicable.
Engineers.
Traffic reporters.
Weather teams.
Researchers.
Editors working ridiculous hours.
The person who answered the phone when the tip came in.
The producer who noticed the detail everyone else missed.
The reporter who made one more call.
The anchor who remained calm when everything around them was chaos.
Great journalism is rarely a solo performance.
It’s a newsroom.
And Yes Management Deserves Some Credit Too
We spend plenty of time criticizing management at On The Dial.
So fairness requires saying this too.
When a newsroom produces nationally recognized journalism, somebody somewhere allowed resources to be devoted to doing it.
Someone approved the assignment.
Someone kept reporters employed.
Someone paid for equipment.
Someone gave people time.
Someone decided journalism still belonged in the budget.
That’s increasingly worth recognizing.
Because you cannot demand Murrow-quality journalism while funding a newsroom like an afterthought.
This Should Be the Lesson
Don’t look at these awards and simply say congratulations.
Study what they represent.
KIRO demonstrates the importance of being prepared when the story explodes.
WCCO demonstrates the importance of staying with a story after the initial headline disappears.
KYW demonstrates the continuing power of serious reporting.
KNX demonstrates that the basic radio newscast can still represent extraordinary journalism.
WBUR demonstrates what sustained newsroom excellence looks like across an entire operation.
Different categories.
Different cities.
Different ownership structures.
One common denominator.
Journalism was treated like it mattered.
Give These Newsrooms Their Flowers
So today we’re doing exactly that.
To KIRO Newsradio
Take the bow.
To 830 WCCO
Take the bow.
To KYW Newsradio
Take the bow.
To KNX News
Take the bow.
To WBUR
Take the bow.
Not because radio needs another participation trophy.
Because earning a National Edward R. Murrow Award means journalists somewhere did difficult work extraordinarily well.
And in 2026, when practically every newsroom is being asked to accomplish more with less, that deserves one hell of an ovation.
Radio Journalism Is Not Dead
Stop writing its obituary.
Is it changing?
Absolutely.
Is the traditional business model under enormous pressure?
Without question.
Do newsrooms have to evolve across digital, podcasting, streaming, video and whatever comes next?
Of course.
But journalism isn’t defined by whether the report comes through an AM transmitter, FM signal, smart speaker, podcast feed or phone.
It’s defined by the work.
Report it.
Verify it.
Explain it.
Stand behind it.
That’s the job Edward R. Murrow helped define generations ago.
And that’s the job radio journalists are still doing today.
Congratulations to the 2026 National Murrow winners.
And congratulations especially to the radio people who reminded everyone that when the microphone is placed in the hands of a great journalist
radio can still be absolutely extraordinary.
On The Dial celebrates the journalists behind KIRO Newsradio, KNX News, KYW Newsradio, 830 WCCO, WBUR and every radio newsroom recognized by the 2026 National Edward R. Murrow Awards. In an era of shrinking staffs, exploding information and unprecedented competition for attention, these broadcasters remind us that credibility remains one of radio’s most valuable assets. Protect the reporters. Invest in the newsroom. Give journalists the resources to do the work. Because when the world suddenly needs answers, somebody still has to pick up the microphone and get the story right.
See the 2026 National Edward R Murrow Award winners
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