Journalists from Little Rock Public Radio were recognized for their outstanding work in broadcasting at the 2025 Arkansas Press Women Professional Communications Contest, with awards presented during a June 21 awards ceremony at Central Baptist College in Conway.
Their award-winning entries, ranging from political reporting to in-depth interviews and feature stories, stood out among 321 total submissions evaluated by independent judges.
Josie Lenora, politics and government reporter, earned three awards including first place in the Radio Prepared Report category for her piece, “Residents Voice Opposition to Planned Charleston Prison.” She also received a third-place award for “Finding a Tasteful Design for Arkansas’ ‘Monument to the Unborn’ has been Fraught” and an honorable mention for her story on Arkansas high school students suing the state over restricted African American studies.
Maggie Ryan, anchor and reporter, earned first place in the Radio Interview category for “Three Weeks in al-Aqsa: A Doctor’s View of the Gaza Crisis.” She also brought home three additional honors: a second-place win for her story on confusion surrounding changes at Hendrix College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and two honorable mentions for reports on a Netflix reality show filmed in prisons and on Arkansas’s and Tennessee’s challenge to a federal abortion rule.
Daniel Breen, news director, was recognized along with KASU’s Brandon Tabor and KUAF’s Matthew Moore with a second-place award in the Radio Talk Show category for the August 23, 2024, edition of The Arkansas Newswrap.
Nathan Treece, anchor/reporter, also earned two second-place awards: one for a breaking news segment titled “Eloping During an Eclipse” and another for a best newscast aired on July 19, 2024.
Overall, Little Rock Public Radio staff earned 10 awards across multiple broadcast categories, with two first-place winners advancing to the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) competition. National results will be announced at the NFPW conference Sept. 11-13 in Golden, Colorado.
Little Rock Public Radio is a listener-supported public service department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, housed within the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education. It operates KUAR FM 89.1 and KLRE Classical FM 90.5, reaching more than 80,000 listeners weekly through broadcasts, streaming, and digital content. As the only source of classical music on the airwaves in central Arkansas, and home to NPR and locally produced programming, the stations continue to serve as vital sources of news and culture for Arkansans.