WKYU-FM has earned top honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. for the documentary, “The Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima.”  The 29-minute report first aired in August of 2010, on the 65th anniversary of the attack.

The PRNDI competition is the only national contest recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations.  “The Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima” earned first place in nationwide competition among stations that have three or four news staff members. The first place entry was produced and anchored by WKU Public Radio News Director Dan Modlin. 

The winning entry included some key interview guests from Western Kentucky University.  Military Historian Jack Thacker and World War II tank crew member Lee Robertson provided perspective and analysis.  Other interview guests included a Marine photographer who had taken photographs after the atomic bomb was dropped, a Japanese woman who was born and raised in Hiroshima, and the chief researcher at the Harry Truman Presidential Library.

WVTF Public Radio at Virginia Tech won second place in the competition. This marks the second consecutive year WKYU-FM has earned national recognition for documentary production. In 2010 the station won second place from PRNDI for a documentary titled “A New Look at the New Deal.” 

The 2011 awards were announced in Washington, D.C., on June 25. 

WKU Public Radio includes WKYU-FM in Bowling Green, WDCL-FM in Somerset, WKPB in Henderson/Owensboro and WKUE in Elizabethtown.