Wilbur Awards

2023 Wilbur Award winners

Audio/Audio-Visual Productions:

  • Audio Productions > Audio-Only News Stories
    • “When Does Life Begin? Religions Don’t Agree”, NPR, Sarah McCammon, Jason DeRose
  • Audio Productions > Other Audio Productions
    • Turn the Other Cheek, CBC Radio One, Sean Foley, Producer IDEAS; Greg Kelly, Executive Producer IDEAS
  • Audio-Visual Productions > News Stories (Faith & Values, Hard News & Other)
    • CBS Sunday Morning: An Act of Faith, CBS Sunday Morning, Ted Koppel, Deirdre Cohen, Ed Givnish
  • Audio-Visual Productions > News Stories (Human Interest) (Note: 2 Wilbur Awards presented)
    • 60 Minutes: Lourdes, CBS News 60 Minutes, Bill Whitaker, Nichole Marks, John Gallen, Patrick Lee
    • CBS Sunday Morning: “Stranger at the Gate,” SMARTYPANTS PICTURES, Joshua Seftel, Conall Jones, Avi Bond, Hayden Goldsworthy, Kristin Thompson, Rob Chapman, Steve Benjamin, Collin Friesen, Bobb Barito
  • Audio-Visual Productions > Full-Length AV Productions & Other
    • Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Ya’Ke Smith, Rasool Berry, Matt Huizenga, Ted Harrison
  • Audio-Visual Productions > Major Motion Pictures
    • AULCIE, Hey Jude Productions, Dani Menkin

 

Images:

  • Illustration & Photography
    • Sacred Work, Los Angeles Times, Francine Orr, Chaplain Kevin Deegan

 

Written Works:

  • Books
    • Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence; Westminster John Knox Press, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
  • Magazine Articles
    • Demon Time, Reporter, the LAnd, Sam Kestenbaum
  • Newspaper Articles (Faith & Values) (Note: 2 Wilbur Awards presented)
    • CRT, Trumpism and doubt roil Biola University. Is this the future of evangelical Christianity?, Los Angeles Times, Thomas Curwen
    • Looking at the Forgotten and Overlooked: The Richness of Jewish history, The Forward, Andrew Silverstein
  • Newspaper Articles (Human Interest) (Note: 2 Wilbur Awards presented)
    • Black Catholic nuns: A compelling, long-overlooked history, The Associated Press, David Crary
    • Sacred Rivers, The Associated Press, Chinedu Asadu, Deepa Bharath, Giovanna Dell’Orto, Mariam Fam, Binaj Gurubacharya, Nick Perry

2023 Wilbur Award of Excellence and Award of Merit recipients

Audio/Audio-Visual Productions:

  • Audio Productions > Audio-Only News Stories
    • Award of Excellence:
      • Some Christians Are Using Sacred Texts to Embrace a Broader Understanding of Gender; Deena Prichep and Jason DeRose; Freelance/National Public Radio NPR)
    • Award of Merit:
      • Religion Roundup: AP’s Global Religion Team Explores Sacred Rivers Around the World; Walter Ratliff, Jessie Wardarski and Deepa Bharath; the Associated Press

 

  • Audio Productions > Other Audio Productions
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • How This German Town Kept a Promise to God for 400 Years; Arman Aghbali, Mary Hynes, Rosie Fernandez and Kevin Ball; Canadian Broadcasting Company
      • Witnessed: Mystic Mother; Katie Henoch, Leah Henoch, Emily Martinez, Sarah Ventre, Rebecca Ross, Matt Shaer, and Sydney Fleischmann; Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment
    • Awards of Merit:
      • History of the World Religions (Part 1); Drs. Megan Goodwinn and Ilyse Morgensteing Fuerst; Keeping it 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion Podcast
      • INTERFAITH: The Musical, Volume 2; Ruth Broyde Sharone
      • Our Ventura TV: Faith Based Shows for 2022; Sandra Siepak; Our Ventura TV

  

  • Audio-Visual Productions > News Stories (Faith & Values, Hard News & Other)
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • Church and State; Anderson Cooper, Sarah Koch, Chrissy Hallowell, and Robert Zimet; CBS News/60 Minutes
      • A Painful Remembrance; Martha Teichner, Dustin Stephens, Mike Levine, and Rand Morrison; CBS Sunday Morning
    • Award of Merit:
      • Church Abuse Scandal; Nikki Battiste, Adam Verdugo, Javier Guzman, Sherri Sylvester, Rodney Comrie, Durrell Dawson, Alicia Hastey, and Anam Siddiq; The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell

 

  • Audio-Visual Productions > News Stories (Human Interest)
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • The Answered Need; Don Dare, Taylor Gash, and Dave Wignall; WATE-TV
      • 60 Minutes: Ballet in Exile; L. Jon Wertheim, Michael H. Gavshon, Nadim Roberts and Matthew Lev; CBS News’ 60 Minutes
    • Award of Merit:
      • CBC Sunday Morning: Second Chances (Reginald Dwayne Betts); Erin Moriatry, George Pozderec, Kay M. Lim, and Rand Morrison; CBS Sunday Morning

 

  • Audio-Visual Productions > Full-Length AV Productions & Other
    • Award of Excellence:
      • To Bigotry No Sanction; Jack Gordon, Samuel Goldman; The Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom at the George Washington University
    • Awards of Merit:
      • Ireland’s Dirty Laundry; Betty Buckley, Deirdre Cadwell, Elizabeth Coppin, Teresa O’Connor, Gabrielle O’Gorman, Maureen Sullivan, Samantha Long, Etta Verman, Nuala Cunningham, Gerry Gregg, Liadan O’Connor, Jen Dunbar, and Fernando De Juan; New Decade TV Ltd
      • Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas; Swirl Films & Big Dreams Entertainment; Lifetime TV

 

Images:

  • Illustration & Photography
    • Award of Excellence:
      • Praying Football Coach; Michelle Budge; Deseret News
    • Award of Merit:
      • Interfaith Work for Climate Change; Eliza Anderson; Deseret News

 

Written Works:

  • Books
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • Reorganized Religion; Bob Smietana; Religion News Service
      • Shabbat and Sunday Dinner, In Our Tradition; Candace Bazemore and Gabrielle Spatt
      • Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation; Liz Bucar, Northeastern University
      • What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church; William Yoo; Westminster John Knox Press

 

  • Magazine Articles
    • Award of Excellence:
      • Why I Love Christmas in Israel; Nicky Blackburn; ISRAEL21c
    • Award of Merit:
      • The Summer of Love – In Yiddish; Madison Margolin; DoubleBlind

 

  • Newspaper Articles (Faith & Values)
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • After Roe, Religious Liberty Seen at Risk; Deborah Netburn; Los Angeles Times
      • ‘You Wear Out’: How Chronic Illness Grounds and Inspires William Barber’s Activism; Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service
    • Awards of Merit:
      • A Family’s Evolution on Abortion; Priscella Vega; Los Angeles Times
      • As Supreme Court Weighs Abortion, Christians Challenge What It Means to Be “Pro-Life”; Jaweed Kaleem; Los Angeles Times
      • Martini Judaism; Jeffrey Salkin; Religion News Service

 

  • Newspaper Articles (Human Interest)
    • Award of Excellence:
      • Salvadoran Women Jailed for Abortion Warn US of Total Ban; Luis Henao and Jessi Wardarski; The Associated Press
    • Awards of Merit:
      • Afghan Couple Accuse US Marine of Abducting Their Baby; Martha Mendoza, Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro; The Associated Press
      • Inside the Last Days of a Small-Town Synagogue; Dina Gachman; The Forward
      • Rejection or Welcome: Transgender Catholics Encounter Both; David Crary; The Associate Press

 

  • Newspaper Articles (Hard News)
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • Colleyville; Forward staff; The Forward
      • Tracking and Analyzing Celebrity Antisemitism – Portfolio; Mira Fox, Louis Keene, Sharon Rosen Leib, and Laura E. Adkins; The Forward
      • Ukrainian Clergy Say Russian Occupiers Target Them with Threats, Violence; Ian Lovett; The Wall Street Journal
    • Award of Merit:
      • Three Killed in Church Shooting: Hero Disarms Shooter, Found Left with Heartbreak, Questions; Greg Garrison; AL.com

 

  • Newspaper Articles (Opinion)
    • Award of Excellence:
      • Columns From Rob Eshman – Portfolio; Rob Eshman; The Forward
    • Awards of Merit:
      • A Sharp and Insightful Voice: Laura E. Adkins Portfolio; Laura E. Adkins; The Forward
      • Looking Forward – Portfolio; Jodi Rudoren; The Forward
      • What Russell More Taught Me About Arguing with My Husband; Kelsey Dallas; Deseret News

 

  • Newspaper Articles (Human Interest)
    • Awards of Excellence:
      • Can An All-Mormon Cast Pull Off ‘Fiddler on the Roof”? We Traveled to Utah to Find Out; Mira Fox; The Forward
      • What It’s Really Like to be Jewish on a Campus Known as a ‘Hotbed of Antisemitism’; Arno Rosenfeld; The Forward
    • Awards of Merit:
      • Campus Religious Groups Step Into a New Realm: Mental Health Counseling; Olivia Sanchez; The Hechinger Report
      • On Abortion, Muslim Americans Say Islamic History is “On the Side of Mercy”; Alejandra Molina; Religion News Service
      • Should A Member of the Clergy Report Sex Abuse of the Penitent? A Look Inside the Priest-Penitent Privilege; Tad Walch; Deseret News
      • Signs of the Times; Rev. Thomas J. Reese; Religion News Service
      • What Faith Groups Are Doing to Help with the Housing Crisis; Mya Jaradat; Deseret News

Photos from the 2023 Wilbur Awards event

Previous Winners

2020-present

Recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media.

2022

2022 Wilbur Awards Winners

2021

2021 Wilbur Awards Program & Winners

2020

2020 Wilbur Awards Program & Winners

2020 Wilbur Awards Presentation & Acceptance Videos

1992-2002