Delmarva Public Media (DPM) recently was honored for local news coverage at the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s (CAPBA’s) annual convention in Ocean City on May 30, 2026, winning a station record 17 awards including five for student-produced work in the College Radio division.
The eight first-place and nine-second place awards were for work done in 2025 for DPM, which is comprised of three listener-supported public radio stations that operate via a collaboration between Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore: WSCL 89.5 FM, WSDL 90.7 FM and WESM 91.3 FM.
“I am very proud of the work that our small but mighty team of professional and student reporters are doing each and every day here in our community,” said Delmarva Public Media Chief Content Officer Bryan Russo. “Local news coverage is getting harder and harder to do well in this ever-changing media landscape, and these awards are a testament to the tenacity, dedication and their commitment to delivering thorough, interesting and objective news stories about our region.”
First place awards went to reporter Kevin Diaz for “Best Enterprise Reporting” and “Outstanding Serious Feature” while music director Stephen Philip Harvey and Arts and Culture reporter Jenny O’Connor won their first ever AP awards for “Best Specialty Reporting” and “Outstanding Sports Feature”, respectively.
Contributing Reporter Brian Shane won “Outstanding Light Feature” and, for the second consecutive year, DPM also received a second-place award for best news organization in the Radio/Non-Metro Division.
In the College Radio division, DPM’s weekly, all-student-produced newscast, “The Five Minute Fly-By”, won first place for “Best Newscast”. UMES student journalist Sydney Rutledge Smith won for “Outstanding General News” and while Colin Bright, (summer intern, Bates College) won for “Outstanding Feature.”
The awards were presented at the annual Awards Banquet at the Princess Royale Oceanfront Resort in Ocean City, Md. Twenty-seven news organizations in Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., submitted 378 entries in the contest, which featured news and sports from 2025.
CAPBA is an independent association comprised of local members of The Associated Press, a not-for-profit news cooperative that represents thousands of newspapers and broadcast stations across the United States. CAPBA also awarded a $3000 scholarship to Charlotte Pfabe, a rising senior studying broadcast journalism at Elon University in Elon, N.C.
Full List of DPM Awards
COLLEGE RADIO
Outstanding General News:
1, Sydney Rutledge-Smith and Bryan Russo, DPM’s Student Productions on WSDL, "Maryland Governor Says HBCU's 'More Important Than Ever Before'"
2, Sydney Rutledge-Smith and Bryan Russo, DPM’s Student Productions on WSDL, "UMES Could Feel the Shock of Trump's DEI Orders."
Outstanding Feature:
1, Colin Bright and Bryan Russo, DPM’s Student Productions on WSDL, "Worcester County Family Gets the Home of Their Dreams";
2, Lauren Imhof and Bryan Russo, DPM’s Student Productions on WSDL, "Conservation Conversations: Do Dandelions Have Healing Powers?"
Outstanding College Newscast: 1, Tyler Hale, Jada Skye Brown and Keema Jones, DPM’s Student Productions on WSDL, "The Five-Minute Fly-By."
RADIO II/NON-METRO
Best Enterprise Reporting: 1st place: Kevin Diaz, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "ICE Sparks Fear and Uncertainty in Delmarva's Immigrant Community";
Best Specialty Reporting: 1st place: Stephen Philip Harvey, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Off the Record"
Outstanding Sports Feature: 1st place: Jenny O'Connor, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Salisbury University Brings Back the Marching Band to Amp up Fan's Experience."
Outstanding Serious Feature: 1st place: Kevin Diaz, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Delmarva's Food Pantries Overwhelmed as Thanksgiving Approaches”
Outstanding Light Feature: 1st place, Brian Shane and Bryan Russo, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Snow Hill Celebrates 25 Years of 'Blessings'”
Outstanding Spot News Reporting: 2nd place: Kevin Diaz, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Reconnecting Communities' Grants Fall to Trump Budget Cuts."
Outstanding Coverage of a Continuing Story: 2nd place: Kevin Diaz, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Deportation on Delmarva."
Outstanding Use of Sound: 2nd place: Kevin Diaz, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Mixing Food and Politics: Behind the Scenes at the Annual Tawes Crab and Clam Bake."
Outstanding News Series: 2nd place: Don Rush, “Trump Immigration Raids Spark Fear in the Undocumented Community”
Best Investigative Reporting: 2nd place: Kevin Diaz and Don Rush, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Former Salisbury Council President on Why He Quit."
Outstanding Documentary/In-Depth Reporting: 2nd place: Bryan Russo, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md., "Hospitality Bites: Exploring the Dramatic Rise in Mental Health Issues in the Hospitality Industry."
Outstanding News Operation: 2nd place: Don Rush and Bryan Russo, Delmarva Public Media, Salisbury, Md.
