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Published: July 7, 2011

WBFO News wins awards

WBFO-FM 88.7, UB’s National Public Radio affiliate, won six awards at the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s annual awards banquet held last month in Saratoga Springs.

The station captured three first-place and three special mentions honoring the work of the WBFO news team.

News director Eileen Buckley received the prestigious Art Athens award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting in 2010. Buckley is a three-time recipient of this award, also winning in 2002 and 2008 for her work at WBFO.

Arts and cultural producer/reporter Joyce Kryszak won first place for Best Feature for “Family War Sacrifice,” a report on a family who lost a loved one to the war in Iraq.

Buckley and Kryszak were also honored with a first-place award for Best Continuing Coverage of the “Deadly City Grill Shootings” in downtown Buffalo in August 2010.

Other Associated Press awards earned by WBFO include:

  • Best Spot News Coverage: Special mention to Buckley for reporting on City Grill shootings.
  • Best Interview: Special mention to Buckley for her interview with gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino about his run-in with New York Post reporter Fred Dicker, “Paladino Bickers with Dicker.”
  • Best News Special/Documentary: Special mention to Buckley for coverage of the Flight 3407 crash and tragedy “One Year Later.”

WBFO’s news coverage also earned acclaim at the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) annual awards banquet held last month in Arlington, Va. PRNDI, a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional development of public radio journalists, hosts the only national contest recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations.

The team of Buckley, Weekend Edition anchor Chris Jamele and news anchor Mark Scott won first place for “Breaking News” coverage of the City Grill shootings. WBFO News also received a second-place award for Buckley’s spot news coverage of the shootings.