A student reporter at WKMS-FM, Murray State University’s NPR station, has won a National Edward R. Murrow Award.
Mason Galemore, who graduated from Murray State this May with a degree in journalism from the school’s Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business, was named the winner of the award for Excellence in Audio Hard News in the Student Division for a story that he produced while working at WKMS: “The average age of farmers is going up. Kentucky’s young agricultural producers say it’s out of their control.”
His in-depth audio feature focuses on the shift in Kentucky’s agricultural community in recent years as fewer young Kentuckians choose to become farmers. It examines the circumstances that have led to the change in the field and what the state’s young farmers think of the industry’s future.
WKMS has a long history of producing incredible student journalists who go on to work in outlets all over the country. News Director Derek Operle says, “Mason has a bright future in the field and a heart and mind that will help him grow into an even more formidable journalist along the way. We’re so proud to be part of his reporting origin story in what’s sure to be a super career.”
The Murrow Awards are the embodiment of the values, principles and standards set forth by Edward R. Murrow, a journalism pioneer who set the standards for the highest quality of broadcast journalism. Of the awards given to journalists, the Murrows are among the most respected in the world.
This award, announced on Aug. 15, marks the first National Murrow win for WKMS. The station has won two Regional Murrow Awards, including one in 2021 for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for coverage of the resurfacing a photo of an area educator in Blackface and one in 2022 for its Breaking News Coverage of the December 2021 tornado outbreak.
Mason is a native of Missouri and is currently living in Anchorage, Alaska, where he is working as an education and community outreach associate for Alaska Public Media as part of his assignment with Americorps.
WKMS is Murray State’s NPR Station and part of the educational mission of Murray State University. You can hear news reported by the WKMS news team on 91.3 FM and wkms.org, or 90.9 WKMD Madisonville and 89.5 WKMT Fulton. There is also an all-classical station and WKMS music station. For more information about WKMS call 1-800-599-4737 or visit wkms.org.
