CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia MetroNews has received national recognition for its work to inform the public.
The recognition came from the National Association of State Radio Networks during its convention this month in Las Vegas.
The organization is comprised of 31 state radio networks, including more than 1,800 radio stations across the country.
MetroNews won the Best Public Affairs category for “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval.
The organization judged an episode of the daily two-hour public affairs program that was broadcast from the state Capitol during the statewide teachers strike.
The category’s judge commented, “Great natural sound allowed me to ‘experience’ the intensity of the event, the teacher’s rally at the state Capitol. Theater of the mind, if you will.
“Many interviews of the many issues involving educational issues, which included timely follow-up questions.”
Dale Miller, president and chief executive of West Virginia Radio Corporation, expressed pride in the honor — but not surprise.
“Any award that Hoppy Kercheval gets doesn’t surprise me. His body of work over the years not only in West Virginia but nationwide is iconic,” Miller said.
“I don’t know who at the state radio level is doing anything like what he’s doing.”
MetroNews also received the top award for Best Website.
In that case, the judge commented, “West Virginia MetroNews stands out in a field of quality entries. The layout of the website makes it attractive and easy to use.
“Although there is a substantial amount of content on both the news and sports homepages, it doesn’t appear cluttered.”
Miller described the website as a daily demonstration of West Virginia MetroNews’ commitment to informing the public.
He described West Virginians making the website a destination to start the day, returning regularly for updates and streaming programming.
“That is an amazing story of how it’s resonated with the people of West Virginia,” Miller said.
“To get the national recognition is fantastic and we certainly enjoy it. It’s our company saying to the state we still believe in real journalism and we’re going to continue to do that forever.”