WUIS awarded two journalism honors in Illinois AP competition

WUIS 91.9, the public radio affiliate based at the University of Illinois at Springfield campus, received two journalism awards in the latest competition sponsored by the Illinois Associated Press. The news station was honored with second place awards in the categories of Best Investigative Report and Best Documentary.

State Capitol reporter Amanda Vinicky’s report called “The Representative Who Didn’t Show” about an Illinois lawmaker who wasn’t showing up for work was awarded second place in the Best Investigative Report Category.

Vinicky also collaborated with Illinois Issues Magazine State Capitol reporter Bethany Jaeger for a project that received second place for Best Documentary. That report, “Along the Autism Spectrum,” focused on three families affected by autism. The families discussed issues such as how they get schools to meet the children’s special needs, how they cope with awkward social situations, and how challenges change as the children grow.

“These awards demonstrate that WUIS listeners are getting quality journalism, not only at the national level from NPR (National Public Radio), but at the local and regional level from our own reporters,” said Bill Wheelhouse, WUIS General Manager.

Both WUIS and Illinois Issues are part of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS.

WUIS can be heard at 91.9 FM in central Illinois, 89.3 FM in western Illinois and on the web at wuis.org. The mission of WUIS media is to cultivate curious, civically-engaged audiences and enrich the community through independent journalism, programming and outreach.