NJ 101.5 gubernatorial election coverage wins Edward R. Murrow Award

TRENTON — For the third year in a row, the New Jersey 101.5 news team is the recipient of a prestigious 2022 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. (UPDATE: New Jersey 101.5 wins National Murrow Award)

The "Best Newscast" honor went to the Nov. 3, 2021 edition of "New Jersey's First News with Eric Scott," which was broadcast the morning after Election Day.

Gov. Phil Murphy wasn’t declared the winner in New Jersey’s gubernatorial election until two days after the polls closed. It would take another eight days for Murphy’s opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, to officially concede the race.

While other regional media outlets were quick to call the race, only New Jersey 101.5 kept its audience informed with confirmed vote totals as they came in.

The winning newscast, featuring reporting by New Jersey 101.5 Statehouse Bureau Chief Michael Symons, reflects the uncertainty of that time and also informs listeners about state Senate President Steve Sweeney’s shocking loss to political upstart Edward Durr.

The contributions extended beyond what listeners heard on air, as David Matthau, Dino Flammia, Jen Ursillo, Patrick Lavery, Chad Robison, Dan Alexander, Erin Vogt and Sergio Bichao all played a role in gathering information and audio used in the newscast, which also included essential traffic reports and weather forecasts.

"What we do matters," New Jersey 101.5 Market President Brian Lang said. "No other broadcast outlet in the region matched our coverage of this important election. This award acknowledges what hundreds of thousands of listeners and millions of online readers already recognize: New Jersey 101.5's commitment to the Garden State."

Edward R. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession. New Jersey 101.5, which competed with stations in Pennsylvania and New York, now advances to the National Murrow Award competition, which will be announced this summer.

"This win is an acknowledgment of the critical role that we have at this radio station, and more importantly to those who rely on us for that information," New Jersey 101.5 News Director Annette Petriccione said.

"New Jersey's First News" can be heard Monday through Friday starting at 5:30 a.m. The early-morning program has been a staple of the station since October 1991, when it was then called "Early News Jersey." Scott, who has been the anchor for more than 30 years, has received five Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in his career.

Last year, "New Jersey's First News" was honored with a 2021 award for a broadcast focused on the pandemic.

In 2020, New Jersey 101.5’s on-air news staff received an Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage of the Dec. 10, 2019 Jersey City shooting rampage that claimed the lives of a Jersey City Police detective and three civilians.

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