Boise State Public Radio wins three PMJA awards for 2024 reporting

Boise State Public Radio News took home three second place awards at the national Public Media Journalists Association's (PMJA) annual contest.

"We are always excited to be able to honor the great journalism at local public radio stations across the country," said Christine Paige Diers, PMJA Executive Director. "This year, more than 1,450 entries competed for these honors."

Multimedia - Division C

2nd Place: Mind Matters Instagram Series

Katie Kloppenburg won second place for her Instagram series focusing on youth mental health in Idaho, Boise State Public Radio's first-ever social media original reporting series.

In the age of social media, teenagers are struggling more with their mental health. This is in part because engaging with social media and other forms of digital media are rewarding to youth, with each "like" on a photo triggering the reward processing part of the brain.

Idaho had the 12th-highest suicide rate in the United States in 2022, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Suicide was also the 9th-leading cause of death in Idaho in 2021.

Mind Matters: Addressing youth mental health in Idaho

Narrative/Produced Program - Division C

Extremely American won second place for season two of the podcast, with host Heath Druzin focusing on the rise of Christian nationalism in a small Idaho town. The podcast takes an inside look at Christian nationalism, a movement that aims to end American democracy as we know it and install theocracy, taking rights away from the vast majority of Americans in the process.

Extremely American

An inside look at Christian nationalism, a movement that aims to end American democracy as we know it and install theocracy, taking rights away from the vast majority of Americans in the process. Host Heath Druzin and James Dawson report on the movement through the story of an influential far-right church, its attempt to take over a small town and a dark underbelly of abuse.

Student Feature

Newsroom intern Jaxon Holmes received second place for her feature reporting on the West YMCA holding private swim lessons for Muslim women. Many Muslim women never learn to swim, it can be difficult to move through the water in the modest clothing worn for their religion. Some say they feel self-conscious swimming in public.

Which is why the West Y welcomes these women after hours. Holmes teaches the class with another female instructor on Sundays and another team comes for the second session on Mondays. The small group of Muslim women spends about an hour in the pool. Some are learning to swim, others building on skills they learned earlier in life.

'No one ever offered this opportunity:' West Boise YMCA provides swim lessons to Muslim refugee women

The West Boise YMCA offers after-hours, private swim lessons to muslim women who would not otherwise have access to learn these skills.

You can see the full list of winners here.