The honored projects highlight efforts to preserve a unique piece of Nebraska’s cultural heritage and examine accountability in a civil rights case involving an elementary school student.
Nebraska Public Media is the recipient of two 2026 Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Announced May 28, the awards celebrate outstanding achievements and community service in broadcast and digital journalism.
The first award-winning project is the Nebraska Stories episode, “Rescuing Japanese Hall.”
For more than a decade, Nebraska Public Media's team documented efforts by Nebraskans of Japanese heritage to preserve Scottsbluff’s Japanese Hall, a social hall built in 1928 that served as a hub for cultural, religious, and educational gatherings.
Interwoven with the preservation efforts is the story of Father Hiram Kano, whose life reflects the broader experiences of the Issei, the first generation of Japanese immigrants to Nebraska. The episode explores over a century of Japanese American history in Nebraska, including immigration, wartime internment, and the ongoing efforts to preserve important pieces of Nebraska history.
Nebraska Public Media also received a Murrow Award for the news story, “A Nebraska boy was bullied and called a ‘cotton picker.’ His mother is demanding accountability.”
Written in collaboration with the Midwest Newsroom, the investigation examines the racism and physical abuse suffered by a Black elementary school student from Falls City and his mother's ongoing fight for accountability through state and federal civil rights complaints.
Reporters reviewed school records, court filings and conducted extensive interviews to examine how schools respond to allegations of racial harassment and bullying. Their reporting sheds light on the challenges that rural students of color may face and raises broader questions about how educational institutions address discrimination.
RTDNA has been recognizing local and national news stories for excellence with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Edward R. Murrow was an American war correspondent and pioneer of broadcast journalism who set a high standard for ethical, courageous reporting through his coverage of World War II and his commitment to holding those in power accountable. The awards bearing his name honor journalists and news organizations that demonstrate technical expertise, journalistic integrity and the impact of journalism in the community.