KAPB announces winners of annual contest in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, April 14, 2012 — Television and radio stations across the commonwealth were honored Saturday as the Kentucky Associated Press Broadcasters presented awards. Click here for a complete list of contest winners.

Among large-market TV stations, WLEX-TV in Lexington claimed the most first-place honors with seven awards. Among them were Best Spot News and Best Political Coverage. The former went to Jennifer Hoff and Michael Soe for a rescue story.

WAVE-TV in Louisville claimed the Best Newscast award.

In the small-market television bracket, WPSD-TV in Paducah led winners, picking up 13 first-place trophies. Among the honors was Best Continuing Coverage for the station's reporting on the 2011 flooding in western Kentucky.

The Best Spot News award went to Jerrika Insco of WYMT-TV in Hazard and WBKO-TV in Bowling Green won Best Political Coverage.

Radio station competition was split into commercial and non-commercial divisions.

Among commercial stations, WKYX in Paducah took home six first-place awards. Barry Wright's coverage of a fire was honored with the Best Spot News award and Donna Groves' report on an animal shelter euthanizing dogs without anesthesia won Best Use of Sound.

The Best Radio Newscast award went to WHAS-AM in Louisville.

Among non-commercial radio stations, WFPL in Louisville claimed six top awards to lead the division. Best Enterprise went to Graham Shelby for a report on inmates trying to transform themselves. The WFPL staff won for Best Radio Newscast.

The Best of Show awards were chosen from among first-place winners in selected categories. The television award went to WAVE-TV in Louisville, while WKMS in Murray received the radio award.

An expanded college competition brought a number of entries in three radio and three television categories.

Also, the KAPB Board of Directors elected Rick Howlett of WFPL-FM as its president for 2012-2013. New board members include Kathy Hostetter, news director at WAVE-TV in Louisville, and Robert Thomas, news director of WKYT-TV in Lexington. Returning board members include Donna Groves, news director for WKYX-FM in Paducah; Neil Middleton, general manager for WYMT-TV in Hazard; and Gene Birk, managing editor and anchor at WBKO-TV in Bowling Green. Birk is immediate past president.

To view a complete list of winners, please click here.

Photo of the Year

Stephen Lance Dennee won the Kentucky AP Photo of the Year for the image that shows the buggy of an Amish family that was caught in a flash flood seen in a field along Roscoe Creek, Feb. 25, in Hickman County near Dublin. Four children died as the family sought to ford a rain-swollen creek in the horse-drawn buggy. Dennee shot the photo when he worked for The Paducah Sun. Bureau Chief Adam Yeomans presented the award to Dennee at the Kentucky News Photographers Association’s annual meeting in Lexington on Jan. 21. Dennee also will receive $100.

The KNPA also named its Best of Show award for still photos in honor of AP photographer Ed Reinke, who passed away last October after suffering injuries while working at the Kentucky Speedway. Reinke had worked for AP for 25 years. The KNPA’s Ed Reinke Best of Show award for 2011 went to Brynn Anderson, a journalism student at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. The AP also awarded her $100.

Anderson and Dennee are pictured in the photo above.

Photo of the Month

The winners will receive $100 and the photo will be showcased on PhotoStream and on the Kentucky AP website The image will also be entered in the 2011 Kentucky AP Photo of the Year competition.

Each month the AP selects a Photo of the Month for the best member-submitted news photo shared in cycle.

All photos shot by staff photographers or reporters of AP member newspapers in Kentucky and shared during the same publication cycle in which they were shot are eligible.

For information about the Photo of the Month or contributing photos to the AP, contact photographer Mark Humphrey at 615-373-9988 or via e-mail at mhumphrey@ap.org.

Photo of the Month archive.