Charlie Schlenker, WGLT Assistant News Director, is the winner of a 2008 Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) in the small market radio division for Writing. The honor was the only one awarded this year in the state of Illinois for radio or television in any size market. This is Schlenker's third Murrow award in four years. His previous national awards were awarded in 2005 and 2006. “Charlie continues to raise the bar for excellence in broadcast journalism. We know the quality reporting he and his colleagues, Willis Kern and Jim Brown, provide central Illinois listeners on a daily basis,” said General Manager Bruce Bergethon. “We're proud that Charlie's outstanding work has received national recognition as well.” Willis Kern, WGLT News Director, added, “In Charlie, GLT listeners have solid, dependable competence they get to appreciate every day. He has the uncanny ability to capture both the big picture and the subtle nuances of a story and deliver them in a way that takes advantage of radio's capacity to connect with individuals.”

Radio and Television Awards are given in several categories. Communities are in the small market division if they have less than roughly 1.5 million people. RTNDA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the electronic news profession. Upon informing Schlenker of his third national honor, current RTNDA Chairman Ed Esposito quipped, “We're going to rename this the Charlie Schlenker Award!”

WGLT is the NPR/PRI/APM affiliate public radio station licensed to Illinois State University, broadcasting at 89.1 FM in central Illinois and in Peoria at 103.5 FM. Founded in 1966, the station is part of the ISU School of Communication.

Charlie Schlenker