July 2, 2009 -- Federal Way, WA

The World Vision Report, a weekly radio program heard online at WorldVisionReport.org and which has aired on nearly 200 public radio stations nationwide, has been honored with two 2009 Edward R. Murrow Awards for Excellence in Electronic Journalism. The national winners were announced June 29 by The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). The awards will be presented at the annual RTNDA Awards Dinner in New York on October 12, 2009.

Reporter Michael Kavanagh won the Award in the "Writing" category for three stories he wrote for the World Vision Report:

"Stuck in the Mud" originally aired on the show on September 23, 2007, then aired in an encore presentation July 4, 2009. For Kavanagh, the glamor of being an "international reporter" very quickly faded in the muck and mire of a rain-soaked road in Chad, when the vehicle he was riding in became stuck for five hours, and he witnessed local women riding by on mules who found a great deal of humor in his plight.

"News From Goma" aired November 8, 2008. Recent fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo had forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in the last week alone, and humanitarian aid groups were overwhelmed. Many who needed food and medical assistance could not be reached because of the fighting. As Kavanagh shared in this Reporter's Notebook, the Congolese people have an unfortunate history.

"Hijacker" aired October 18, 2008. One of the worst places in the world to be a woman is the DRC. That's where Kavanagh tells listeners in a Reporter's Notebook about meeting a woman under rather strange circumstances. She jumped in his car out of a desperate desire to escape a life of war, rape, and risk to herself and her baby.

Kavanagh's reporting from the DRC is supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Reporter Prue Clarke won the Award in the Feature Reporting category for her story "Liberia's Daily Talk," which originally aired on Sept. 21, 2008, and as an encore presentation on April 4, 2009. In Liberia, where more than 40 percent of the population is illiterate and radio and TV stations were all but destroyed in a long civil war, thousands depend on a very rudimentary news outlet -- a man who writes headlines on a chalkboard and uses symbols to help those who can't read.

The World Vision Report is a weekly radio program that captures the human drama behind global issues and events. Hosted by Peggy Wehmeyer, former ABC World News Tonight correspondent, the World Vision Report has aired on public radio stations such as WBUR (Boston), KPBS (San Diego), KXOT (Seattle), and WBEZ (Chicago).

While the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision is the major funder for the World Vision Report, the program is editorially independent from any sponsoring organization. The views expressed do not, therefore, necessarily constitute the views of World Vision or other sponsors.

The World Vision Report shared prizes in the category of "Radio Network/Syndication Service" with CBS, NPR, and ABC. The show was the only non-network program thus honored.

For further information, contact: Shelly Ngo, General Manager, World Vision Report Voice: (253) 815-2226 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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