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KGOU e-Newsletter

July 23, 2009

Special Series in August ~ Ideas from Aspen
Mondays at 8 p.m.

The Aspen Ideas Festival brings some of the most inspired and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, businesspeople, teachers and other leaders to a single place – Aspen, Colorado – for deep and inquisitive discussion of the ideas and issues that challenge our times. KGOU will broadcast five specials on Monday evenings during the month of August bringing you the best of this year's festival.

The series begins August 3 with Choosing Judges, featuring US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, former justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Georgetown University law professor Viet Dinh as they examine the qualities Americans seek in Supreme Court judges and the role judges play in a democratic society. More information about the series and the four remaining topics – ranging from Mideast peace to Wall Street morality – is available on our Programming page.

KGOU Honored With AP Broadcast Awards

Kurt and Karen Holp with Sweepstakes trophy KGOU took the Sweepstakes trophy with a total of nine awards at the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters luncheon and awards ceremony on July 17 in Edmond.

News Director Kurt Gwartney was awarded a first place trophy in the Weather Coverage category, and he and former News Director Scott Gurian, Logan Layden, Joe Wertz and Jim Johnson were recognized with second and third place awards in government and election coverage, feature reporting and other categories. See the list and listen to some of the winning entries on our Awards page.

NPR News Wins Murrow Awards

NPR has been awarded three national accolades from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, known as the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Awards.

For network radio, in the Breaking News Coverage category, NPR was honored for coverage of the earthquake in Chengdu, China. This coverage has also received Peabody, duPont-Columbia, National Headliner, and Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi awards.

NPR's multimedia series Dirty Money was honored in the Web Site category. And, in a category you might consider a long shot, Sports Reporting, NPR won a Murrow Award for overall coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

NPR was also honored with RTNDA's Unity Award, for a Morning Edition report on the evolution of Native American boarding schools. And finally, Radio Diaries won a Murrow in the news documentary category for “Mexico ’68 Massacre,” which aired on All Things Considered. Several local public radio stations were also winners; see the complete list, and listen to winning entries, at the RTNDA site.

Morning Edition: Return to Afghanistan

As Afghanistan hurtles toward an election in the midst of a broadening war, that country still faces many problems. Its next president – whether Hamid Karzai or another candidate – must tackle a massive political and economic challenge. NPR's Renée Montagne returns to Afghanistan in July and August to report on the people and places key to the upcoming presidential election, and to the next chapter in its history.

Renée Montagne outside the village of Istalif, north of Kabul.

The Jayhawks: Music from the North Country
Radio Special and CD Giveaway!

In the mid 1980s the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul exploded with music, becoming the "Land of 10,000 Bands". In 1985, The Jayhawks emerged with their own unique and influential mix of rock and country. Tune in Sunday, August 2 at 11 a.m. for this one-hour special featuring the music of The Jayhawks and conversations with band members Gary Louris and Mark Olson.

KGOU has copies to give away of the newly released Music from the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology, courtesy of Legacy Recordings. It's a two-CD set featuring 40 album cuts, demos and outtakes from the band's 20-year recording career. Enter our drawing by Friday, July 31 to win!

Highlights from the Networks:

NPR To Launch Web Re-Design

NPR.org will have a new look when its latest re-design is launched next Monday, July 27. NPR's Digital Media executives Kinsey Wilson and Dick Meyer have gathered input from site visitors, and have designed the new online experience to more easily combine listening and reading, to follow breaking news, to comment on stories and share them, and to link back to KGOU's content. Read their note to users and watch a video of Scott Simon trying out the new design.

Three Minute Fiction Writing Contest ~ What a Response!

It's a big assignment for NPR staffers – go through more than 3000 original short stories submitted for All Things Considered's summer writing contest. The contest is no longer taking submissions, but you'll be hearing the best of the stories on ATC throughout the summer, and they're also posted on NPR.org.

100 Best Beach Books Ever: Final Voting

The list has been narrowed to 200 – now it's up to you! Cast your vote for your 10 favorite reads for lounging around, and lobby for your favorites in the comments section, at NPR.org. The winning list will be revealed July 29.

Thanks for reading the KGOU e-Newsletter! To receive e-mail notification each time a new issue becomes available, subscribe here.

We'd also like to hear from you. If you have comments or suggestions about the e-newsletter, please send editor Laura Knoll an e-mail at membership@kgou.org.

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