2024 Golden Press Card: Television - East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists

Here are the 2024 Golden Press Card winners in the Television category. The entries were judged by the Oklahoma SPJ Pro Chapter.

CONTINUING COVERAGE (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: Manhunt for McCowan’s Killer
Entry Credit: WVLT Staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Excellent live anchoring and reporting throughout. Showcased team coverage, in both during hours-long breaking events and in reporting of emotional followups.

Category Comments: Winning entry showcased excellent live anchoring and live reporting throughout. Excellent team coverage, in both during hours-long breaking events and in longer-format reporting.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Crumbling School: What will it take to fix issues at Jefferson Elementary?
Entry Credit: Olivia Dague
Judge Comments: Perfect example of journalism shining a light on a problem, leading to change. Great to see the initial report lead to so much response. Reporter owned the story.

DEADLINE/BREAKING NEWS REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: Hurricane Helene Floods the Mountains
Entry Credit: WVLT Staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Relied heavily on live anchoring. from journalists gathering new info in real time. weaved in weather, traffic, live reporters, live interview, etc. in a way that flowed smoothly.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: DeHart arrested
Entry Credit: WBIR staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: lots of elements that flowed seamlessly. great 4 box off the top. Every live shot was showing me something.

GENERAL REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WATE
Entry Title: Odometer Rollback
Entry Credit: Don Dare, Dave Wignall
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: old-school consumer reporting that feels truly on the side of the regular viewer. Proof that local journalists can bring real change

Category Comments: Winning entry featured old-school consumer reporting that feels truly on the side of the regular viewer. Proof that local journalists can bring real change

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Tennesseans worry about Canadian Dog Abuse Investigation
Entry Credit: Shea Smith
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Reporter handled unique challenges in gathering facts from two countries with different laws for journalists. Loved seeing the work lead to results with Rover removing the profiles.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WCYB
Entry Title: Carter County has up-to-date emergency plan despite mayor’s claim
Entry Credit: Caleb Perhne
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: The follow ups and fallout of the initial piece are where this shines. Excellent use of FOIA to get records to outright call the mayor’s claim false.

Category Comments: Winning entry highlighted how important FOIA is for reporting. Great job requesting records and being brave enough to call the mayor’s claims false.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: East Tennessee schools navigate arming teachers law
Entry Credit: Maria Guzman
Links: See entry

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: KCSO K9 bite leaves woman with scars, hundreds of thousands in medical bills
Entry Credit: Ellis Rold
Links: See entry, See entry
Judge Comments: Horrifying police body cam. Reporter was relentless in trying to gather as much information as possible on the officer, the dog, proper conduct, and past instances with the dog.

Category Comments: Horrifying police video. Reporter was relentless in trying to gather as much information as possible on the officer, the dog, proper conduct, and past instances with the dog.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WJHL
Entry Title: The Sean Williams Saga
Entry Credit: Jeff Keeling, Katherine Simpson
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Thorough and continuous reporting. Impressed with the volume of reporting on this topic, following filings and updates.

FEATURE REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Surviving the streets: A glimpse into the daily reality of homelessness
Entry Credit: Sam Perez
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Great reporting on a tough subject, but this piece humanized homelessness and was a look on the challenges of the social problem. Good job.

Category Comments: I wish I could have given more than first and second place. So many great, heartfelt and spectacularly reported stories. Big shout out to WBIR for the Drag King story and the Premature Foal Story. I was especially touched by the death row inmate story as well.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Making Popcorn’s legacy shine
Entry Credit: Jillian Taylor, Brittany Bailey
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Really nice tribute and profile of an historic figure in Tennessee. Nice wrap up with the timely angle of partnering with Ole Smokey, making this not only entertaining but relevant.

HURRICANE HELENE BREAKING COVERAGE (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: Hurricane Helene Hits the Mountains
Entry Credit: WVLT Staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Solid team coverage of breaking news, not just in the moments it was happening, but in the following days. Good to see your main anchors out in the field.

Category Comments: Winning entry showcased solid team coverage of breaking news, not just in the moments it was happening, but in the following days. Good to see your main anchors out in the field.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WJHL
Entry Title: Hurricane Helene: In The Eye Of The Storm
Entry Credit: Terry Craig, Anslee Daniel
Links: See entry

HURRICANE HELENE IN-DEPTH COVERAGE (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: WBIR Hurricane Helene
Entry Credit: WBIR Staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Well compiled and timestamped into ONE piece. Thoughtful cover letter as well. great emotional sound. Love the verify segment. 30 min special. station hosting toy drive. Fully invested in community.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WCYB
Entry Title: Impact Plastics Deaths
Entry Credit: Yannia Nordelo, Troy Prater, Jason Hutchinson
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Unlike other entries, it was nice to see continued coverage of one particular issue and developing story during hurricane-the plastics employees. The bilingual reporter was essential.

BEST ANCHOR (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: Brittany Tarwater Anchor
Entry Credit: Brittany Tarwater
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Lots of unscripted breaking news anchoring, showed emotion, comes across as very sincere, personable, excellent style

Category Comments: Brittany showed multiple examples of commanding the desk during breaking news at the desk. Showed emotion and came across as very sincere and personable. Polished style both in dressy and casual settings.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: Casey Wheeless Anchor
Entry Credit: Casey Wheeless
Links: See entry

BEST NEWSCAST (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: May 8, 2024 Severe Storms
Entry Credit: Alyssa Stoney
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: great transition to weather. weather wasn’t rushed. toss back from weather was smooth. didn’t love the storm day stinger. the storm graphic stayed up behind anchors for shooting coverage. anchors and weather man were excellent. large reporter presence, bad tech support pkg, reporter jumped out of frame out of frame was distracting.

Category Comments: Started with excellent transition to weather. Meteorologist was strong from start to finish. Good toss back to news coverage. Breaking news coverage was compelling. Smart teases with promises delivered in the next block.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WVLT
Entry Title: WVLT News at 6
Entry Credit: WVLT Staff
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: well put together graphics, including live box at the top. Great production quality throughout.

SPORTS REPORTING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Heartbeat in the Boxing Ring
Entry Credit: Katie Inman
Links: See entry, See entry
Judge Comments: What a great story highlighting a local athlete. The interview was done well, and the girl highlighted seems so charming. I especially liked the twist of a girl boxer who is so humble too.

Category Comments: This was a fun competition to judge.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WCYB
Entry Title: After 75 Years, Petty is still The King
Entry Credit: Heather Williams
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: Tons of history, great characters, wonderful legacy. I enjoyed watching this piece, even as a non-NASCAR expert.

SERIES/PACKAGE/PROJECT WRITING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Appalachian Unsolved
Entry Credit: Jerry Owens, Tim Dale, Brittany Bailey
Links: See entry, See entry, See entry, See entry, See entry
Judge Comments: The ‘Appalachian Unsolved’ series at WBIR is so good it should probably be taken in manageable doses, lest one becomes addicted. Readers have been warned. From story to story, I found myself in an intoxicating journey of mystery and intrigue, confusion, hate, passion and hope. Think true crime, but with the chilling reality of these events taking place in an Appalachian community’s back yard. And your back yard, probably. And mine too.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: MORE THAN A NUMBER
Entry Credit: Maria Guzman
Links: See entry, See entry, See entry, See entry, See entry

DOCUMENTARY/PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING (Television)

First Place
Contestant Name: WBIR
Entry Title: Helene’s Aftermath – 96 Hours In Asheville
Entry Credit: William Winnett, Abby Ham, WBIR Asheville Team
Links: See entry
Judge Comments: This documentary is painful to watch. But also hope-inspiring. It displays in full effect the eternal struggle between entropy and the human will to fight it with order. Hurricane Helene was so unexpectedly devastating for countless individuals, as many natural disasters are, and the reporting displayed in the half an hour film shows full picture of just how bad things can get when we don’t take care of our planet.

Second Place
Contestant Name: WCYB
Entry Title: Strikes and Solidarity in Southwest Virginia:
Entry Credit: Jon Chriswan, Ryan Renfro
Links: See entry