On June 15, the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA) announced the winners of its 2026 Annual Awards Competition, honoring the best in public media journalism produced during 2025. The 293 awards span breaking news, investigative reporting, features, audience engagement, science storytelling, video journalism, and more — representing organizations of every size, from small community stations to major metropolitan outlets.

Four Michigan public radio broadcasters were recipients of multiple PMJA honors:  Interlochen Public Radio, Michigan Public, WDET-FM and WMUK were recognized for their exceptional efforts.  The winning entries in various categories are:

Arts Feature

1st Place/Div. A:   WMUK-FM — “Ringing the bells at Kalamazoo College is an art that takes muscle”
2nd Place/Div. B:  Interlochen Public Radio — “In Beulah: UFOs, Lady Liberty, Abe Lincoln and a life of art and service”
1st Place/Div. C:   WDET – Detroit Public Radio — “Container on the Metro - Bevlove”

Audience Engagement

1st Place/Div. C:   WDET – Detroit Public Radio — “CuriosiD”
2nd Place/Div. C:  WDET – Detroit Public Radio — “Detroit to Gloryland (Yosemite)”
1st Place/Div. D:   Michigan Public — “On Hand”

Collaborative Effort

1st Place/Div. A:   WMUK-FM — “Nothing but problems’: Confronting the living conditions at Fox Ridge Apartments”

Documentary

1st Place/Div. B:   Interlochen Public Radio — “Points North: A Sticky Solution for Microplastics”

Health/Medical Feature

1st Place Div. D:   Michigan Public — “Record number of MI kids reported hospitalized from cannabis in 2024”

Human Interest Feature

2nd Place/Div. A:  WMUK-FM — “Why’s That: Why is there a runway sign in this Portage driveway?”
1st Place/Div. C:    WDET – Detroit Public Radio — “CuriosiD: What is the origin of ‘What up doe?’”
1st Place/Div. D:   Michigan Public — “Fitted for a prosthetic leg in Flint, a boy from Gaza can chase his dreams again”

Interview

1st Place/Div. B:   Interlochen Public Radio — “After 20 years of trying, Traverse City man’s crossword appears in The New York Times”
2nd Place Div. C:  WDET – Detroit Public Radio — “Paul Whelan follow-up one year after release”

News/Public Affairs Program

1st Place/Div. B:  Interlochen Public Radio — “Up North Lowdown: Meet the cop building relationships with homeless people in Traverse City”
1st Place/Div. D:  Michigan Public — “Stateside”

The PMJA Annual Awards Competition has recognized excellence in public media journalism for more than 30 years. Entries are judged on public service value, journalism quality, creativity and innovation, technical excellence, and writing. The complete list of winners nationwide can he found here.