Two Eastern North Carolina newsrooms secured prestigious 2026 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for their local reporting. The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) announced the Region 8 winners, honoring both WITN-TV and Public Radio East (PRE) for outstanding broadcast journalism.
Public Radio East won the Best News Series award for small market radio. PRE’s news team was recognized for "The Camp Lejeune Water Crisis," an extensive investigative series probing the ongoing health fallout and legal battles surrounding toxic water exposure at the local military base.
WITN-TV captured the Hard News Honor for small market television. News Anchor Dave Jordan and Chief Videographer Brandon Hardison won for their deep-dive report detailing how regional healthcare facilities face multimillion-dollar losses due to federal Medicaid cuts.
Both regional victories mean WITN and PRE automatically advance to the national competition, where they will represent Eastern North Carolina against winners from 13 other regions. The RTDNA will announce the national Murrow Award winners in August 2026.
