LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 4, 2021) — Lexington's NPR news station, WUKY-FM, grabbed 12 nominations, including Best Short Newscast, from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association's new 2020 "Impact Broadcasters Awards."
In a year when world-altering events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to historic racial justice demonstrations, visited Kentucky's doorstep, WUKY's news team delivered the most KBA-nominated entries of any Lexington radio station.
WUKY's Morning Edition anchor Karyn Czar is in the running for five awards, highlighting her reporting on the protests surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor and community efforts to cope with the ongoing health crisis.
Nabbing four nominations in categories spanning Best Anchor to Best Sports Feature, News Director Alan Lytle also won nods for collaborations with UK's Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History Director Doug Boyd spotlighting the debut of UK Basketball's Big Blue Madness and the unsung heroes of Kentucky's suffrage movement.
WUKY reporter Josh James received the sole nomination for Best Political Coverage and a nod for Best Long Serious News Feature for his teachers' eye view of the pandemic.
The awards will be announced at the KBA Impact Broadcast Awards virtual presentation on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
Here below are the nominations and the categories:
- Short Light News Feature: Karyn Czar, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Winchester Students Stuck at Home Were Treated to a Parade"
- Short Serious News Feature: Karyn Czar, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor"
- Long Serious News Feature: Josh James, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Kentucky Teachers Do Their Best to Navigate Through Pandemic"
- Long Public Affairs: Karyn Czar, WUKY-FM, Lexington, ""The Time for Sitting on the Sidelines Has Passed" Dr. Everett McCorvey on Racism"; Alan Lytle and Doug Boyd, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Kentucky Suffragist's Daughter Recalls Pivotal Pre-19th Amendment Convention"
- Sports Feature/Special: Alan Lytle and Doug Boyd, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "UK Basketball's First Taste of the Madness."
- Use of Sound: Alan Lytle, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Product Sampling Still a Staple of "Socially Distant" Distillery Tours"
- Political Coverage: Josh James, WUKY-FM, Lexington.
- Breaking News: Karyn Czar, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor"
- Continuing Coverage: Karyn Czar, WUKY-FM, Lexington, "Keeping the Faith During A Global Pandemic"
- Radio Anchor: Alan Lytle, WUKY-FM, Lexington.
- Short Newscast: WUKY-FM, Lexington.