Michigan Association of Broadcasters Names WXYZ-TV 'Station of the Year'

Michigan Association of Broadcasters Names WXYZ-TV 'Station of the Year'

Station Wins Eleven Broadcasting Awards

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 received the "Station of the Year Award", Tuesday, March 11, at the 2007 Broadcast Excellence Awards, hosted by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB). The award was presented to WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 at a ceremony held during the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference & Expo in Grand Rapids, MI. The event recognized and celebrated outstanding news, programming and public service performances by Michigan radio and television stations.

The station placed first in the category of Investigative Story for "Pastor Ben's Bling," a report by Investigative Reporter Heather Catallo which chronicled the elaborate lifestyle of Pastor Ben Gilbert of Detroit World Outreach in Redford. Channel 7 also received a first-place award in the category of Mini-Documentary or Series for "Hawaiian Hideaway," an investigative report launched by Chief Investigator Steve Wilson which uncovered thousands of tax dollars spent by Detroit city officials in Hawaii attending a pension conference. Reporter Heather Catallo and Sports Director Don Shane both walked away with first place awards in the categories for News Reporter and best sportscast respectively; and in addition, the station also received top honors for weather and community involvement.

WXYZ-TV received merit awards in the categories of Breaking News Story for "Freeway Flood," Investigative Story for "Commissioner's Work Day," Newscast for "11 p.m. Action News," Special Interest Programming for "DIA - Grand Opening: Arts Alive" and WXYZ-TV's consumer advocate and Investigative Reporter Bill Spencer received a nod in the category for News Reporter for a compilation of his stories.

"It is an honor to receive this recognition from our peers at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. These awards reflect the station's commitment to excellence in news coverage, feature reporting and most importantly, serving our community. I am extremely proud of the entire WXYZ-TV staff for these accomplishments and their continuing efforts every day to deliver on our promise of being 'On Your Side,'" said WXYZ Vice President and General Manager Bob Sliva.

The Broadcast Awards, one of the largest state awards programs in the nation, was judged by members of the Colorado Broadcasters Association on a variety of criteria including presentation, delivery, and production values.

WXYZ is owned by the Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company and its parent, The E. W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) . Scripps is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, electronic commerce, interactive media, and licensing and syndication.

The company's portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living, Great American Country and HGTVPro; daily and community newspapers in 17 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media, including a leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and syndication company that is the home of PEANUTS, DILBERT and approximately 150 other features and comics.

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Source: WXYZ-TV

CONTACT: Marla Drutz of WXYZ-TV, +1-248-827-9300

Web site: http://detnow.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment