Segment entitled, ‘Local lingo: how do you say Cambria?’
The coast of Cambria.
–A KCBX News feature on the proper pronunciation of “Cambria” won first place for small market soft news during the prestigious Public Radio News Directors Incorporated awards ceremony held in St. Louis last month.
The piece, “Local lingo: how do you say cambria?” by Randol White, not only explored the two different pronunciations – KAM-bree-ah versus KAYM-bree-ah – it also traced the origin of the name to find out which way is correct. To do so, White contacted the reference department at the Cambria County Library in Pennsylvania and the public program coordinator at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Britain.
Through his research, White reached a definitive answer: It’s pronounced KAM-bree-ah.
The piece was aired on KCBX News in December of 2015, and it continues to see heavy traffic at KCBX.org.
KCBX News began producing content for both broadcast and the station’s website in February of 2014.
“This is the first time we have ever entered any of our work to be considered for an award,” White said. “So, as you can imagine, we were thrilled when we learned that we were selected – and that it was first place.”
The annual PRNDI Awards honors public radio reporting in a variety of categories, from arts and sports to spot news.
“This year’s competition was fierce, with over 1,200 entries submitted,” said George Bodarky, PRNDI President.
A total of 173 awards were handed out to 72 organizations. There were only 14 first place awards for small-market radio news pieces.
