The Ben Grauer Award 1986

Best radio spot news reporting from abroad

Award Year: 1986
Award Name: The Ben Grauer Award 1986
Recipients: Fred Kennedy, Philip Till
Affiliation: NBC Radio News
Honored Work: “The Tripoli Tapes”

Kennedy and Till were the only American radio correspondents present when U.S. Air Force planes attacked Libya. The 2 a.m. attack wakened Kennedy, who ran to a studio he and Till had set up on the roof of their Tripoli hotel, and gave a clear, dramatic account of the raid, with the sounds of bombing and of Libyan tracer fire in the background. In subsequent on-the-spot radio news reporting, they covered the effects of the 11-minute raid that dropped 16 tons of bombs, as well as the violent anti-American reaction that followed.

Citation for Excellence:

Gary Covino
National Public Radio
“Election Day at Nuevo Guadalupe Elementary School”