WCVB Wins 8 National Headline Awards

WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate owned by Hearst, won eight National Headliner Awards for outstanding journalism.

Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards program is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing journalistic merit in the communications industry.

“WCVB Channel 5’s entire team is deeply committed to living up to the journalistic standards celebrated by the National Headliner Awards, and we are grateful for this distinguished recognition,” said Bill Fine, WCVB’s general manager.

WCVB was honored in the following categories in the 84th annual National Headliner Awards:

Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Newscast
First Place
NewsCenter 5 at 6pm: Auto Auction Crash
A typical morning at the Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica quickly turned into chaos when one of the vehicles up for sale suddenly accelerated, striking several people and smashing through the brick wall of the building. WCVB was on air within minutes of the crash with the early reports of injuries and a witness account of what took place.

Second Place
NewsCenter 5 at 6pm: Methuen Plane Crash
The initial reports that came in were for a plane crash near the Lawrence airport, and WCVB’s newsroom quickly learned that the small plane had gone down short of the runway, crashing into the roof of a nearby condo complex. As witnesses helped our teams on the ground piece together what took place, our investigative team got to work to learn the history of the plane, details on the unnamed pilot and what occurred in the final moments of the flight.

Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Coverage of a Live Breaking News Event
Second Place
Auto Auction Crash

Third Place
Methuen Plane Crash

Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Public Service
First Place
5 On: State of Addiction
For more than two years, WCVB has been focused on the opioid crisis playing out in our region and across the country. WCVB has produced more than 150 stories in regular newscasts and other campaigns to draw attention to the challenges of addiction. On June 13, 2017, WCVB turned to primetime to provide a progress report on the crisis in a one-hour show at 10 p.m. titled, 5 On: State of Addiction.

Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Business and Consumer Reporting
Second Place
Ben Has Your Back
Ben Has Your Back is WCVB’s regular consumer-focused series anchored and reported by Ben Simmoneau. In this story, Ben tackles widespread problems with a solar panel company operating in Massachusetts.

Broadcast or Cable Television Stations Health/Science Reporting
First Place
Beyond the Cure
In a special edition of “Chronicle,” medical reporter Emily Riemer dives into an issue that has been surfacing over the past few years — the lingering health effects of children who survived childhood cancer.

Third Place
Chronicle-Last Rights
Dr. Roger Kligler, a retired primary care physician living on Cape Cod, faces the most disturbing case he’s ever known: his own diagnosis of terminal cancer. Kligler wants the right to end his life on his own terms, but Massachusetts law does not permit terminally ill patients to receive medical aid for this purpose. Now, Dr. Kligler is taking his case to court, hoping for a ruling before his final days.

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