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WCPO wins 2 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for 'Living in the Shadows'

WCPO building
Posted at 3:11 PM, Apr 23, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-24 01:43:17-04

CINCINNATI — WCPO earned two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Radio Television Digital News Association announced Tuesday.

The awards have honored outstanding achievements in electronic journalism since 1971.

WCPO took home the awards for “Excellence in Innovation” and “Excellence in Video” — both for the WCPO longform report “Living in the Shadows.”

The report, by editorial cartoonist Kevin Necessary and former WCPO reporter Breanna Molloy, tells the story of a Cincinnati family whose daily life is clouded by the complicated laws and opinions around immigration.

WATCH: ‘Living in the Shadows’

WCPO did not identify the family members or use their real names as we didn’t want to put the family at risk of being arrested or broken up by identifying them.

Necessary used his cartoons to bring to light the family’s struggles with immigration laws. Molloy pieced together the cartoons with on-camera interviews to demonstrate the immigration dilemma felt by some in Cincinnati.

Commentary from Necessary and Molloy helps the audience understand how they brought the story together using the unconventional comic journalism format.

"There’s not another local newsroom in America that can pair a reporter/documentarian with a cartoonist to tell a story with as many layers as 'Living in the Shadows,'" news director Chip Mahaney said. "We at WCPO are proud to be honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for this work, for excellence and for innovation."

WATCH: Behind the scenes of ‘Living in the Shadows’

Regional Murrow Awards are presented to small and large radio, television and digital outlets based on 14 geographic regions. WCPO's region consists of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. 

Regional winners are automatically considered for a national award to be announced in June.

Click here for a full list of regional winners.