Religion News Service is honored to win three 2014 Wilbur Awards from the Religion Communicators Council for a faith-based blog, an online news story and a multimedia project.
The awards, which will be presented April 5 at a Religion Communicators Council meeting in Nashville, Tenn., represent work published by RNS in 2013.
Jonathan Merritt
“On Faith and Culture” writer Jonathan Merritt, senior columnist for RNS, won for a series of commentaries that appeared on his blog; reporter Kimberly Winston, who covers the religiously unaffiliated, won for a story about a Muslim woman who fled her family to become an atheist; the RNS staff, led by national correspondent Adelle M. Banks, won for a multimedia package on the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.
Kimberly Winston
“The work recognized by the Wilbur Awards is exactly what RNS aims for every day — pieces that are provocative, informative and engaging for our audiences,” said RNS Editor-in-Chief Kevin Eckstrom. “RNS is dedicated to promoting civil discourse about religion in American life, and we’re grateful to the RCC for recognizing journalism that does just that.”
Adelle Banks
The Religion Communicators Council presents the Wilbur Awards to encourage and recognize work that communicates religious issues, values and themes with professionalism, fairness and honesty. Other winners for this year include Mitch Albom, Charlie Rose, and Mark Burnett and Roma Downey for “The Bible” television series.
The Wilbur Award, first given in 1949, honors Marvin C. Wilbur, a pioneer in the field of religious public relations. Winners receive a handcrafted stained-glass trophy. The competition is judged by media professionals in a juried process.
RNS is owned by Religion News LLC, a nonprofit, limited liability corporation based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Its mission is to provide in-depth, non-sectarian coverage of religion, spirituality and ideas.