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Winners of the 2023 RTDNAC awards competition were announced at an awards luncheon on Nov. 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

Radio

Breaking News

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – Raleigh Mass Shooting Coverage – WUNC News Staff

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – South Carolina judge sentences Alex Murdaugh to life in prison – Victoria Hansen

Community Impact

First Place: WHQR – Series on ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

Second Place: WFAE 90.7 – Climate News – David Boraks

Consumer/Economic

First Place: WHQR – Ask a Journalist: Why is my rent so [expletive] high? – Benjamin Schachtman, Kelly Kenoyer

Second Place: WFAE 90.7 – How an investor plans to flip a low-income Charlotte neighborhood, double rents and make millions – Nick de la Canal

Education

First Place: WHQR – ‘Stamped’ out? The battle to remove an AP-English book from a New Hanover County school

Second Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC  – ‘Ms. Art’ wants to keep teaching, but one exam stands in her way – Liz Schlemmer, Dave DeWitt

Entertainment

First place: South Carolina Public Radio – Frankenstein remains a frightful favorite for more than two centuries – Tut Underwood

Second Place: FM 98.5 AM 680 WPTF – Afrofuturism In Costume Design – Gayle Hurd

General News

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC  – After more than 20 years of work, a North Carolina wetland is brought back to life – Celeste Gracia, Dave DeWitt

Second Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – Navy Recruiting -Jay Price, Adam Hochberg

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – The colorful South Carolina State Fair was once black and white – Tut Underwood

Hard News Feature

First Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Classical musician releases debut album in prison – Victoria Hansen

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Lesson from a fading mind, from a neighbor with early-onset Alzheimer’s – Scott Morgan

Health-Medicine

First Place: WHQR – The Healing Place is not a treatment center 

Second Place: FM 98.5 AM 680 WPTF – Menopause Mondays – Rob Connett, Kristine Bellino, Jon Champion, Harrison Riddle 

Investigative

First Place: WFAE 90.7 – Fractured – Dana Miller Ervin, Greg Collard

Second Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – Books on race, sexuality among most targeted across N.C. schools – Sunshine Week Partners

Light Feature

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – Motherhood inspired her to finish her degree – Liz Schlemmer, Dave DeWitt 

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – A nearly decade long wait is over for Mary Ashley Barbot and the kidney she calls “Cupcake” – Victoria Hansen

Long-Form Interview

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – ‘There is hope in our society’: How George Floyd’s North Carolina family is helping underserved communities – Will Michaels, Sascha Cordner

Second Place: 97.9 The Hill (WCHL) – On Air Today: Mental Health in the Schools – Aaron Keck

Outstanding News Operation

First Place: WHQR

Second Place: WPTF

Podcast (Long)

First Place: South Carolina Public Radio – InDebted: Episode 8 — The 36% Solution – Caelan Bailey, Sean Birch, Scott Morgan, A.T. Shire

Second Place: WUNC – Embodied: Stuttered – Anita Rao, Kaia Findlay, Amanda Magnus, Jenni Lawson

Podcast (Short)

First Place: South Carolina Public Radio – InDebted: Barnwell — A love story – Caelan Bailey, Sean Birch, Scott Morgan, A.T. Shire

Political/Election

First Place: WUNC – NC Senate wants to give much more than normal — $1.4B — to new ‘innovation’ program – Colin Campbell, Dave DeWitt

Second Place: WHQR – Advocates say NC bill will hurt tenants, and could financially benefit its primary sponsor 

Radio News Block

First Place: 97.9 The Hill (WCHL) – The Morning News: Election Results, UNC Women’s Basketball – Aaron Keck, Brighton McConnell, Andrew Stuckey

Second Place: WPTF – WPTF Morning Show – Rob Connett, Harrison Riddle, Jon Champion, Tony Riggsbee, Kristine Bellino

Series

First Place: WFAE 90.7 – In Focus: Corridors of Opportunity – Lisa Worf, Kayla Young, Elvis Menayese, Nick de la Canal, Sarah Delia

Second Place: 97.9 The Hill (WCHL) – ‘Three Years’ — A 2020 Retrospective Series With Aaron Keck – Aaron Keck

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – New report looks at isolation in South Carolina’s senior population – Scott Morgan

Social Reform

First Place: WFAE 90.7 – Transgender teenagers are at the center of a fierce debate in North Carolina over restricting care – Nick de la Canal

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Partnership to restore football field of former Equalization School, sends message of community, hope – Thelisha Eaddy

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – Upstate takes center stage in LGBTQ+ books debate – Scott Morgan

Special Report

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – With $1.5 billion from settlements, North Carolina counties tasked with reversing opioid epidemic – Ben Schachtman, Lilly Knoepp, Laura Lee, April Laissle, Kenneth Lee, Jr.

Second Place: South Carolina Public Radio – SC General Assembly begins work on new anti-abortion bill – Russ McKinney

Sports

First Place: North Carolina Public Radio WUNC – Speedway saved: NASCAR returns to its roots at North Wilkesboro – Mitchell Northam, Elizabeth Baier

Second Place: 97.9 The Hill (WCHL) – Improv and Sports: UNC Women’s Lacrosse Program Forging Unlikely Partnership – Michael Koh