News4Jax honored with regional award for Irma coverage

WJXT wins for breaking news in Region 13 large market television

The Radio Television Digital News Association on Wednesday awarded News4Jax with the regional Edward R. Murrow Award in breaking news for WJXT's coverage of Hurricane Irma.

RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of broadcast and digital journalism.

Regional Murrow Awards are presented to small and large radio, television and digital outlets based on 14 geographic regions. News4Jax won in RTDNA's 13th Region, which includes large market television stations in Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Regional winners are automatically considered for a national award.

The winning entry was a composite of coverage over the days the hurricane moved up the Florida Peninsula and then devastated large parts of Northeast Florida with its heavy rains, rising water and high winds.

“It’s incredibly gratifying for our staff to be recognized with such a prestigious honor, WJXT Vice President and General Manager Bob  Ellis said. “The commitment to the people of Jacksonville by everyone at our station is what makes WJXT a truly local station. The work they did during Irma coverage embodies that spirit.” 

Viewers recognized News4Jax coverage as well. As Hurricane Irma approached the area, WJXT ratings beat the competition combined. On Sep. 6, 2017, News4Jax at 6 a.m. had a 9.6 Nielsen HH rating, compared to WTLV’s 4.9, WJAX’s 2.6 and WFOX’s 1.4.

Ratings continued to grow throughout Hurricane Irma coverage. On Sept. 7, 2017 at 6:30 p.m., News4Jax had a 12.9 Nielsen HH rating.

WJXT’s digital platforms helped keep viewers connected, delivering 4,148,036 visits to News4Jax.com and more than 16 million pageviews to News4Jax.com and the News4Jax app between Sept. 5-12, 2017 (Google Analytics).