MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- WMOT has won a national award for a story with a unique Middle Tennessee connection.
WMOT received the award from the Public Radio News Directors (PRNDI) association during its annual convention held this past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The story recognized aired last year and highlights classes held regularly at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. WMOT News Director Mike Osborne attended a class on the sometimes misunderstood art of yodeling.
"I attended thinking a class on yodeling might make for a fun light-hearted feature," Osborne said, "but was surprised to learn just how many world cultures practice some form of yodeling. I was also fascinated to learn how African-American culture affected the yodel as it's used in American Country Music.
The story resulting from that visit won a first place award earlier this year from the Associated Press in Tennessee for "Best Use of Sound" in a radio feature. On Saturday, PRNDI announced that WMOT had received a second place national award for the same story, also for "Best Use of Sound."
The "Best Use of Sound" category recognizes a story that uses natural, or on-location sound to better "illustrate" the topic for listeners.
PRNDI says this year's contest received more than 1100 entries in about a dozen different radio story categories from public radio stations across the United States.