WBAA News conducted an experiment of sorts in 2018. With a news staff of just three full-timers and a couple student interns, and with several local competitors in the market, we knew we had to find a way to do news that few others were doing. So we shifted our emphasis to long-form conversations and investigations, choosing to believe in our audience and its ability to follow along with a story over time.
The result was a seismic shift in the way the newsroom operated and was viewed by the public at large. WBAA's investigative reporting, long-form public affairs conversations and sound-rich storytelling helped paint a fuller picture of West Central Indiana -- not by demeaning our competitors, but by choosing to believe our listeners should get a benefit from consuming multiple sources of news.
We are proud to submit our efforts for consideration for the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence. It's not a category we've entered every year. But we believe WBAA has served its community well this year and the experimental philosophy we've adopted has helped Hoosiers see beyond their community and beyond their social circle to better understand the world around them, and -- hopefully -- bring them closer to their brethren both down the street and in the neighboring towns we cover across a 10-county region.
You may listen to the audio linked above, which contains examples of the many feature-length stories we did in 2018, as well as examples of our public affairs shows and newscasts -- all of which have been transformed in the past year. Longer versions of each are linked below, as well.
- Mayors: We're Getting Railroaded By Trainwreck Laws, Blocked Crossings
- Tipp. Co. Election Board Won't Investigate Dombkowski's Admittedly Illegal Cell Phone Use
- Continuing Coverage -- Clinton County Humane Society Finances And What They Say About Government Oversight Of Money
- For Whom The Bell Tolls: After 20-year Effort, Crawfordsville Gets Clock Tower Back
- Election Series: Mini-golf With Candidates For State House, State Senate, County Clerk
- Sheriff's Deputies Train For Worst-case Scenarios In Downtown Lafayette
- A Room Full Of Fascinators: Hoosiers Find Connections To Royal Wedding
- Concert Preview: I'm With Her
- Lafayette Grapples With Challenges Of Its In-Home Summer Feeding Pilot
- Public Affairs Programming -- Monthly ConversationsWith PurduePresident MitchDaniels
- WBAA Investigates: Why Did It Take Two Years For SNAP To Be Taken At Local Farmers' Markets?
- Newscast: 7 a.m., January 25, 2018