April 30, 2021
Local radio broadcasters are dedicated to serving the public, and for many stations, community service is at the core of their mission. Each year, 10 NAB member stations are honored with Crystal Radio Awards recognizing their commitment to serving their communities and the vital role radio plays across America. This year’s honorees exemplify radio stations’ extraordinary year-round public service efforts.
Bonneville International’s KSL News Radio was a trusted voice for their community as Utah experienced the first ever major earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley, measuring a magnitude of 5.7. Their live and local updates put listeners’ minds at ease by dispelling the false rumor of a much larger earthquake on the way.
Bonneville International’s KRSP, “103.5 FM The Arrow,” teamed up with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development to offer local businesses on-air, digital and social media assistance free of charge. Their on-site mediation benefiting the Utah Homeless Shelter was reimagined to an online-only format and raised $1.7 million.
Hubbard Broadcasting’s KSTP celebrated 54 years of broadcast and community service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, KSTP put into rotation a tribute version of Andra Day’s song “Rise Up” created by their creative director to help educate listeners and serve as a reminder of the work the entire community still has to do regarding social justice.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, racial and social unrest and the presidential election, Cumulus Media’s WBAP continued its Christmas tradition of raising money so the patients at the Denton State Supported Living Center had gifts for the holidays. The 2020 “Christmas is for Caring” campaign set a record, raising more than $220,000.
With small businesses seriously impacted by COVID-19, Hubbard Broadcasting’s WDRV gave away free commercials to over 80 local businesses during their “Small Business Bowl” campaign. Also, to help bring the community together the station hosted Friday night “Sing-Alongs” as a way to honor first responders.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Davis Broadcasting, Inc. of Columbus’ WFXE staff met the needs of the community by volunteering with the Columbus, Ga., school system and supported drive-through graduations, helped with lunch deliveries and distributed over 600 bags of school supplies.
Hubbard Broadcasting’s WJJY’s “Community Focus” program included interviews with doctors and health professionals, information on schools and businesses and reports on those struggling due to job loss. Over 179 guests were featured, representing 125 agencies and programs that provide aid to listeners.
As a Philadelphia institution, the team at Beasley Media Group’s WMMR delivered over 2.5 million meals and raised over $1.7 million during “Campout for Hunger,” the nation’s largest single location food drive. During their “I Bleed for Preston & Steve” blood drive, 636 units of blood were donated by faithful listeners to benefit the American Red Cross.
With nearly one million people projected as food insecure by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Cox Media Group’s WSB made it their mission to help provide nearly 470,000 meals and over 3,000 pounds of food for children, families and seniors.
When shelter-in-place orders affected the community, Cox Media Group’s WWRM produced “Open in Tampa Bay” and “Shop Local” through their website to highlight local businesses that were still operating and providing services. WWRM also helped raise $1 million for Feed It Forward to purchase meals for the hungry.
The Crystal Heritage Award recognizes radio stations that have won a total of five Crystal Radio Awards for exceptional year-round community service efforts. Howard University's WHUR was recognized this year as the 10th station ever to have received this award.
More than 2.47 million American jobs depend on broadcasting, and the local broadcast radio and television industry - and the businesses that depend on it - generate $1.17 trillion annually for the nation's economy.
This site is brought to you by the National Association of Broadcasters. We advocate for the nation's radio and television broadcasters.
