Gray Television and its Stations Honored by Service to America, National Headliner, and Several Other Prestigious Awards

ATLANTA, June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gray Television, Inc. (“Gray”) (NYSE: GTN) received the 2023 Celebration of Service to America Award for TV Ownership Group at a formal ceremony in Washington, DC, yesterday. The award recognized the outstanding work of Gray’s InvestigateTV unit and its series, “The Sixth,” which exposed a critical shortage of public defenders across the country. Each year, the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation presents the Celebration of Service to America Awards to honor excellence in community service by local radio and television stations.

In addition, the Foundation selected Gray’s KTTC in Rochester, Minnesota, as its Small Market Television Winner for the station’s nearly 70-year long “Fifth District Eagles Cancer Telethon,” which has raised over $22 million since its inception to support cancer research by the three leading medical institutions all located in the state of Minnesota.

The Foundation also recognized Gray’s KWCH in Wichita, Kansas, as a Finalist for its Medium Market Television Award for the station’s program “Wildfire Relief Efforts,” which raised needed funding from more than 2,000 donors for the Kansas Livestock Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund, and Gray’s WTVY in Dothan, Alabama, as a Finalist for its Small Market Television Award for that station’s program “Miracle on Foster Food Drive,” which, during its 10th anniversary in late 2022, generated more than 200,000 pounds of food and critical dollars for the Wiregrass Area Food Bank.

“At Gray, serving our communities with impactful content is woven into our culture,” said Gray Chairman and CEO Hilton H. Howell Jr. “We are proud of the investigative journalism and public service projects honored by the Celebration of Service to America Awards and the exceptional efforts taking place in all our stations to improve the lives of the viewers we serve, every day.”

Recently, WVUE in New Orleans, Louisiana was honored with the prestigious National Headliner Award for two separate investigations. The National Headliner Awards, founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic merit in the communications industry.   In the broadcast or cable “Public Service” category, WVUE received both First Place and the “Best in Show” award for the investigative series “Drained.” According to the judges’ comments, “WVUE’s crack investigative unit commands our attention annually, but this year’s probe by Lee Zurik into a quirky Louisiana statute that allowed the city of New Orleans and other agencies to ignore court-ordered settlements for eternity was not only shocking in its depth of cruelty, but in its results: Shamed by the Fox affiliate, governing agencies released tens of millions of dollars to deserving victims of malfeasance. Louisiana in general and New Orleans in particular is fortunate to have Zurik and WVUE on guard for public interest.”