Awards & Accomplishments
Since the company’s founding in 1996, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has established a company-wide commitment to delivering exceptional locally-produced programming and service to the communities in which it operates. Nexstar’s award-winning journalism brings to light authentically local stories with a focus on issues and abuses in the local community. Our job is to be accurate and thorough to permit our viewers to be informed on issues of importance.
In 2025, Nexstar received 531 awards for outstanding journalism and continued to be recognized for its journalistic integrity.
Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award
Ali Meyer and KFOR News 4 received an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for the coverage of the wrongful conviction of Glynn Simmons. “Special Report: The Wrong Man” is a story News 4 had been covering in depth for 20 years. Mr. Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days for a murder he did not commit.
The award is considered among the highest honors in journalism.
Walter Cronkite Award
KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, OK, was honored with a 2025 Walter Cronkite Award in the Local News category for their work on “We’re Citizens.” It’s a three-part series of a U.S. citizen and her daughters after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were not the suspects the agents were looking for.
Edward R. Murrow Awards
In June 2026, Nexstar announced that 20 of its owned or operated television stations have earned a total of 34 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).
KXAN-TV in Austin, TX, and KHON-TV in Honolulu, HI, were honored for “Overall Excellence.” KXAN-TV also won awards in four other categories: “Digital,” “Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” “Excellence in Innovation,” and “Podcast.”
KTVI-TV in St. Louis, MO, won three Regional Murrows, including the awards for “Excellence in Writing,” “Continuing Coverage,” and “News Documentary.”
WPRI-TV in Providence, RI, was also recognized in three categories, including “News Documentary,” “Breaking News Coverage,” and “Investigative Reporting.”
Winning two Regional Murrow Awards each were: WJZY-TV in Charlotte, NC, WGNO-TV in New Orleans, LA, WRIC-TV in Richmond, VA, KHON-TV in Honolulu, HI, and KGET-TV in Bakersfield, CA.
Click here to view the full list of Nexstar’s Regional Murrow winners.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy Awards
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational, and technical achievements within the television industry.
In 2025, Nexstar-owned and partner TV station journalists won a total of 121 Regional Emmy Awards.
Ad Fontes Media
All news programming provided by Nexstar stations is judged to have bias category of “middle” and virtually all stations have a reliability rating of “Reliable; Analysis / Fact Reporting.” (4/2026)
National Recognition
NewsNation and The Hill have been recognized by watchdog groups for unbiased content:
- Ad Fontes Media Rated NewsNation (TV and digital) as “Mix of Fact Reporting and Analysis and Analysis or Simple Fact Reporting” with it’s political bias rated as “Middle or Balance Bias.” (8/2025)
- AllSides rated NewsNation’s on-line property as “Center” for media bias. (2025)
- NewsGuard gave NewsNation and The Hill “Trust Scores” of 100, the highest rating of any cable news network. (4/2026)
2025 WVU Medicine Children's Community Service Award
At the 21st Annual WVU Medicine Children’s Gala in Morgantown, WV, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. was honored with the Community Service Award for its continued news coverage of the hospital and participation in fundraising events.
Since 2019, Nexstar stations across West Virginia have covered the WVU Medicine Children’s Mediathon, a 24-hour fundraiser, to share the hospital’s mission of providing the greatest range of pediatric specialty and high-risk maternal care in West Virginia and the surrounding region. Together, WBOY-TV, WOWK-TV, WTRF-TV, WVNS-TV, and WDVM-TV have helped raise more than $6 million for the hospital’s greatest needs.
The Nexstar Charitable Foundation has also donated $50,000 in grants to the hospital since 2022.
WBOY’s GM Jim Dodrill and WOWK’s GM Sean Banks were there on behalf of Nexstar’s WV stations and accepted the award.
L to R: Chief Administrative Officer for WVU Medicine Children’s Amy Bush, Sean Banks, Jim Dodrill, and actor Taye Diggs who hosted the event.