WASHINGTON – The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) proudly announce the winners of the 2016 RTDNA/NEFE Award for Personal Finance Reporting. As part of the two organizations’ ongoing efforts to encourage radio, television and online news outlets to report on personal finance issues, three winners have been chosen for their outstanding work. They are:
Online: Jillian Berman, MarketWatch
Student Debt
Jillian Berman covers higher education with a focus on the nation’s $1.3 trillion in student debt and its effects on students, their families, and the economy and society broadly. MarketWatch is one of only a few financial news organizations with a reporter dedicated to the subject, which Jillian has covered since March 2015.
Radio: Tina Martin, WGBH-FM Boston
Debt Collectors
Tina Martin is an award winning television and radio anchor, host and reporter with PBS/NPR affiliate WGBH, as well as a contributor to NPR, PBS Newshour and the Huffington Post. Her winning entry explains how debt collectors are subject to laws and regulations they must follow while doing their jobs. Martin is a past RTDNF Jacque Minnotte Fellowship winner.
Television: Chris Vanderveen, KUSA-TV Denver
Buyer Beware
Chris Vanderveen is an award-winning (including a national Edward R. Murrow Award) reporter with Denver’s KUSA-TV. The 9News team noticed a trend of freestanding emergency rooms popping up around Colorado. The businesses are not tied to hospitals, and their bills can be expensive. 9News asked viewers to send in their bills and tell their stories.
Each winning entrant receives a $1000 cash prize and will co-present a training seminar entitled Money Matters: Excellence in Financial Reporting at Excellence in Journalism 2016, the national convention of RTDNA, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association, September 18-20 in New Orleans. The winners will break down their award-winning submissions and share the key reporting tools and best practices they used to add depth to their reporting. Audience members will walk away from the session with several ways to creatively approach their reporting and make comprehensive topics more digestible to viewers and listeners.
About NEFE
The National Endowment for Financial Education provides financial education and practical information to people at all financial stages. NEFE believes that regardless of background or income level more financially informed individuals are better able to take control of their circumstances, improve their quality of life, and ensure a more stable future for themselves and their families.
About RTDNA
RTDNA is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. Founded as a grassroots organization in 1946, RTDNA works to protect the rights of electronic journalists throughout the country, promotes ethical standards in the industry, provides members with training and education and honors outstanding work in the profession through the Edward R. Murrow Awards.
