For Immediate Release
Contact: Ron Ticho
(610) 360-0205
Ront@wlvt.org
91.3 WLVR, LehighValleyNews.com, and the PBS39 win four Pennsylvania Area Broadcasters Awards
“Outstanding Use of Digital Media – Radio” and “Outstanding Radio Feature Story/Report/Series 2023” were among the winning categories.
Bethlehem, PA – April 21, 2023 – The Pennsylvania Area Broadcasters Awards honored staffers from 91.3 WLVR, LehighValleyNews.com, and PBS39 for their outstanding work in several diverse categories.
“It is an honor to see our team’s reporting rewarded by our peers throughout the state,” said Jim Deegan, Vice President, News.
The 91.3 WLVR/LehighValleyNews.com team was honored in three (3) categories:
Outstanding Use of Digital Media – Radio 2023
“Pro wrestling dreams come true in an old Lehigh Valley warehouse,” by Julian Abraham, described how residents are learning and practicing pro-wresting in a Coplay warehouse.
Outstanding Radio Feature Story/Report/Series 2023
“News Skateboarding provides a creative, positive outlet in Bethlehem,” by Megan Frank explored the skating scene in Bethlehem and how this alternate to group sports helps kids find a positive outlet.
Outstanding Local Radio Newscast 2023
For coverage of a Bethlehem neighborhood that was evacuated after a tractor trailer carrying thousands of gallons of diesel overturns; the region’s first cases of monkeypox; and accusations of racism at an Allentown community organization.
PBS39 received the following honor:
Outstanding Television Feature Story/Report/Series 2023
Ed Welburn Episode
The PBS39 team – Samantha Bode, Melody Bradford, Jeff Frederick, Andy Hicks, Mat Mezer, Mike Novak, Theresa Radtke, and Eric Werner – won for their work on the “Lehigh Valley Rising” episode, Ed Welburn. This episode, which aired in February, highlighted the contributions of African Americans in the workplace during Black History Month and featured Ed Welburn, a Lehigh Valley resident and General Motors’ first Black automotive designer.
Lehigh Valley Public Media
Lehigh Valley Public Media is a community-owned public media organization serving Eastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey. Headquartered at the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem, PA, Lehigh Valley Public Media is home to PBS39 – the Lehigh Valley’s public television station and 91.3 WLVR – the Lehigh Valley’s all day every day NPR news station. In October 2022, Lehigh Valley Public Media launched LehighValleyNews.com, the region’s only nonprofit and locally-operated digital news platform providing coverage across more than a dozen editorial beats.