Achievements
2024
Regional Murrow Awards
HPR's news team wins four Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for coverage in 2023. Presented annually by the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news. HPR received recognition in the following categories:
Digital:
Sophia McCullough and Krista Rados
Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
Here's What Iam Tongi's Win Means for Pacific Islander Musicians
By Cassie Ordonio
Excellence in Sound:
Volcanologist by Day, Musician by Night Combines His Love of Violin with Kīlauea
By Savannah Harriman-Pote
Feature Reporting:
Aboard a Small Plane, This Maui Pilot Takes Animal Rescues to New Heights
By Catherine Cluett Pactol
2023
Best Places to Work in Hawaii
HPR was named one of the 2023 Best Places to Work in Hawaiʻi by Hawaii Business Magazine. The award is based on a confidential survey of our employees and an extensive questionnaire about benefits and working conditions.
2022
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its eleventh consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This distinction is held by only 2% of the charities evaluated.
Hawaiʻi SPJ Awards
HPR's News team wins two awards in the 2021 Excellence in Journalism contest sponsored by the Hawaii Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
PRX Journalism Podcast Accelerator
Hawai‘i Public Radio is one of six organizations selected to participate in a regional journalism podcast training program.
Public Radio Regional Organizations Award
Hawai‘i Public Radio president and general manager José A. Fajardo was been honored in April 2023 with a national award for leadership within the industry.
2021
Regional Murrow Awards
Hawaiʻi Public Radio's news team wins three Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for coverage in 2020. Presented annually by the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards are among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news. HPR received recognition in the following categories:
Excellence in Sound
From South America to Hawaii Without A Single Health Check
Investigative Reporting
Hawaii Lawmaker Spent Years Obstructing Vaping Regulation While Receiving Thousands From Big Tobacco
News Series
Unsheltered in Honolulu 2020
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its ninth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This nine-time distinction is held by only 4% of the charities evaluated.
Hawaiʻi SPJ Awards
HPR's News team wins nine awards in the 2020 Excellence in Journalism contest sponsored by the Hawaii Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
2020
Regional Murrow Award
HPR's Ryan Finnerty earns the station a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association for his story “Before Graduation, ROTC Students Learn Lessons from Fallen Comrade.” The award is for the category of Feature Reporting in RTDNA’s Region 2, which includes California, Hawai‘i and Nevada.
AP Award
Ryan Finnerty and Sandee Oshiro are awarded with Second Place in the Radio II division for Best Continuing Coverage by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association, in recognition of the series "Native Hawaiian Activists Block Construction of the World's Largest Telescope."
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its eighth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This eight-time distinction is held by only 5% of the charities evaluated.
2019
AP Award
Reporter Ryan Finnerty won first place for best feature story in the Radio II division in the 2019 Associated Press Television and Radio Association honors.
2018
Outstanding Media Champion Award
Political Reporter Wayne Yoshioka was recognized by the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi for his contribution to tobacco prevention and control.
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its seventh consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This distinction awarded seven years in a row is held by only 5% of the charities evaluated.
SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards
The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) made this 2017 Excellence in Journalism Award:
Radio-General News/Enterprise Reporting: First place to Jackie Young, Sunday Weekend Edition local host, for her four-part story "Hawaiʻi and Undocumented Immigrants."
2017
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its sixth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This distinction awarded six years in a row is held by only 5% of the charities evaluated.
2017 AAJA National Journalism, Membership and Special Awards
The AAJA awarded a national journalism award for Asian American Pacific Islander issues to former General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon for her HPR story "Sugar Plantation Closure Marks End of Way of Life in Hawaii" which aired on Marketplace.
SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards
The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored HPR reporters with these 2016 Excellence in Journalism Awards:
- Radio-General News/Enterprise Reporting: First place to General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon for her series “End of Sugar in Hawaii." Finalist - Political Reporter Wayne Yoshioka, "Pearl Harbor Surprise Attach 75th Anniversary."
- Yoshioka was also a finalist in the Feature Reporting category for his story “Historic Visit to the USS Arizona Memorial by Japan's Prime Minister."
Sherry Bracken: SBA Hawaii Award, Advocate for Media and Journalism
Sherry Bracken, HPR's Hawaiʻi island correspondent, was awarded the Small Business Association (SBA) Hawaii award for Advocate for Media and Journalism.
Bytemarks Cafe: Startup Paradise Champion of the Year
Hawaii Venture Capital Association named Bytemarks Cafe the Startup Paradise Champion of the Year for its consistent contribution to the successes of Hawaiʻi’s startup community.
Hawaiʻi Public Radio Week
February 14 - 21, 2017 was proclaimed "Hawaiʻi Public Radio Week" by Hawaiʻi Governor David Y. Ige and Lt. Governor Shan S. Tsutsui. The proclamation coincided with the station's program realignment and recognized HPR for delivering "the highest standards of independent broadcast journalism, music and entertainment."
2016
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPR earns its fifth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator. This distinction awarded five years in a row is held by only 6% of the charities evaluated.
Clarion Award
HPR won a national Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications (AWC) for the weeklong series "Homelessness from the Outside In," produced by The Conversation in September 2015, Co-hosts Beth-Ann Kozlovich and Chris Vandercook, Executive Producer of Talk Programs Beth-Ann Kozlovich. The award recognizes excellence in clear and concise communications.
SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards
The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) distributed these 2015 Excellence in Journalism Awards:
- Radio-General News/Enterprise Reporting: First place to General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon for her series “Hawaiʻi Telescope Conflict.” Finalist - Political Reporter Wayne Yoshioka, “Homelessness in Hawaiʻi.”
- Radio-Feature Reporting: First place to Wayne Yoshioka for his story “Pearl Harbor Survivor Recalls Baseball Game and December 7, 1941 Surprise Japanese Attack." Finalist - Molly Solomon, “Why Traditional Japanese Altars Are Vanishing with the Times."
Edward R. Murrow Awards
HPR won a national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) in for
- Continuing Coverage: "Thirty Meter Telescope Hawai'i" by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
HPR won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for the same series.
Alfred Preis Honoree
President & General Manager Michael Titterton has been selected as the 2016 Alfred Preis Honoree by the Hawaiʻi Arts Alliance.
2015
Cades Schutte - The Cades Foundation Nonprofit Leadership Award
Administered by Pacific Business News as part of its Business Leadership Hawaii Award, HPR was recognized for the growth in its membership numbers, the level of giving it receives from a relatively small population base, its balanced budget, and financial stability. Read more.
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
Hawai‘i Public Radio’s sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the fourth consecutive time that HPR has earned this top distinction. Read more
Edward R. Murrow Awards
HPR won national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) in two categories for
- Breaking News: "Pahoa Lava Flow" by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
- Writing: "Family Roots in Pāhoa" by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
The above stories were also honored with regional Edward R. Murrow Awards along with the story below (a total of three regional Murrow Awards).
- Reporting: Hard News: "Preserving Honouliuli" by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
APTRA
A 2014 APTRA (Associated Press TV and Radio Award) for excellence in broadcast journalism:
- Best Serious Feature: "Preserving Honouliuli: An Internment Camp Almost Forgotten" by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
Best Places to Work in Hawaii
HPR was named as one of the 2015 Best Places to Work in Hawaii by Hawaii Business magazine and Best Companies Group. The award is based on a confidential survey of our employees and an extensive questionnaire about benefits and working conditions.
2014
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
Hawai‘i Public Radio’s sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the third consecutive time that HPR has earned this top distinction. Read more
Edward R. Murrow Awards
HPR won regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in three categories from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).
- Best News Series: “Feeding Ourselves: Hawaiʻi’s Food Future”
- Best Breaking News: “Molasses Spill” by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
- Feature Reporting: “Hawaiʻi’s Brain Drain” (part of the series “Neighbors”) by General Assignment Reporter Molly Solomon
2013
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
From Charity Navigator, the second year in a row. Only 18 percent of charities across the nation have received two consecutive four-star rankings. In Hawaiʻi, HPR was alone in the category of arts, culture, humanities, and public broadcasting and media.
Smart Business Boosters
Ryan Ozawa & Burt Lum, hosts of Bytemarks Cafe, won this award from the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation. Read more
2012
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating
HPRʻs first recognition by Charity Navigator, the nationʻs premier charity evaluator.
2011
Benchmarks for Public Radio Fundraising
This prestigious recognition from DEI (now known as Greater Public, the premiere development and fundraising organization in public media) is given each year to a consistently top-performing station in terms of net revenue per hour of listening. While the median station raises .95 cents in underwriting revenue per listener-hour, HPR last year sold 2.25 cents per listener-hour — all handled by HPR’s single underwriting salesperson. Read more
2008
Best Non-profit Marketing
Awarded to HPR from American Marketing Association – Hawaii chapter
2007
Unity Award
In the radio – large market division, from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) for “Justice for Native Hawaiians.”
Jean Butler Chapin Award (SEA Award)
Presented by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Hawai’i to HPR’s Talk Show Executive Producer Beth-Ann Kozlovich “in appreciation for your outstanding efforts in education.”
Media Award
From the Hawaii Psychological Association to Beth-Ann Kozlovich “for outstanding contributions to mental health and psychology in the State of Hawaii.”
2006
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for Feature Reporting “Justice for Native Hawaiians.” Reported by Chad Blair.
Live Media Award
For Distinguished Medical Reporting from the Hawaii Medical Association.
2004
Edward R. Murrow Award
A regional award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) for Best News Series: “Economics at the Hawaiʻi State Legislature 2003.”
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for General News/Enterprise Reporting “Ala Wai Watershed Series.” Reported by Kayla Rosenfeld.
2003
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for General News/Enterprise Reporting “Hoʻolaupahi.” Reported by Kayla Rosenfeld.
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for Feature Reporting “Sake Culture in Honolulu.” Reported by Noe Tanigawa.
2001
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for New Reporting “Greenville/Ehime Maru Collision.” Reported by Kayla Rosenfeld.
2000
Excellence in Journalism Award
From the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter for Feature Reporting “Hokuleʻa Anniversary.” Reported by Kayla Rosenfeld.
1988
Local Radio Development Award
From the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in business/corporate support.
1987
Local Radio Development Award
From the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in business/corporate support.
1986
Local Radio Development Award
From the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in special events.