College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

WKU Broadcasting and WKU Public Media received a combined eight awards at the Kentucky Broadcasting Association (KBA) 2025 Excellence in Broadcasting Awards at the Owensboro Convention Center on Sunday, September 14, 2025.

The Broadcasting program was presented with the College Program of the Year and Newcast/Coverage awards. Senior Ryan Murphy received the Student Broadcaster of the Year award and the Special Program or Feature award for his feature, “Dylan Black,” which highlighted the accomplishments of a young archer.

Recent WKU Broadcasting graduate Adi Schanie was awarded News Reporter of the Year. She also received the Rookie of the Year award for her work with WDRB-TV in Louisville.

“Our students worked incredibly hard this year, and these awards reflect their dedication to the broadcast profession, good storytelling, and community engagement,” said Brad Pfranger, Associate Professor and Broadcasting Program Coordinator. “With his tireless work ethic, inspirational leadership in the newsroom, and natural curiosity, Ryan Murphy has a long and successful career ahead of him.”

“Adi Schanie has brought so much to the Broadcasting program at WKU. KBA honoring her skill and talent as a reporter once again proves Adi’s potential to make a positive impact on broadcasting and the communities she will serve as a journalist.”

WKU Public Media was presented the Overall Newscast/News Coverage award. Lisa Autry, Reporter Producer for WKU Public Media, was once again recognized with the Radio News Reporter of the Year award.

“At a time when public media faces extraordinary challenges, these awards affirm the important work our students and staff do every day,” said Jordan Basham, Interim Executive Director of WKU Public Media and Director of Public Media Services. “WKU Public Media is proud to deliver fact-based journalism our community can trust, made possible by the support of listeners and local businesses.”

The KBA awards are open to all professional broadcast stations that are KBA members as well as college broadcasting and journalism departments.

WKU’s Broadcasting program provides an opportunity for students to combine classroom learning with hands-on practical media experience. For more information about WKU Broadcasting, please visit https://www.wku.edu/smc/degrees/broadcasting.php.

WKU Public Media provides public service broadcasting to the community, professional training for students, and creates and distributes media content that serves WKU and the citizens of Kentucky. For more information, please visit https://www.wku.edu/public-media/.

Contact:

WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters, (270) 745-2344

WKU Public Media, (270) 745-2400

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Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.