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Story About the "Godfather" of Austin’s Club Scene Earns a National Murrow Award

Yorkie Louie dances at a club on Sixth Street.
Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
/
KUT

This is KUT’s Seventh National Murrow Award

AUSTIN, Texas – Aug. 17, 2021 – A KUT story about the self-proclaimed godfather of Austin clubbing won a National Edward R. Murrow award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).

Austin's Club Scene Has a Godfather. Here's His Story,” reported by Audrey McGlinchy, won in the feature reporting category.

The image-rich story features Yorkie Louie, a nearly 70-year-old man who finds solace on the dance floor of Austin's clubs after a series of dramatic life changes that include losing his partner and most of his friends to AIDS. Louie has become a mentor to a group of younger clubbers in Austin, helping them embrace the cathartic powers of dancing and music.

The story tip came from an anonymous listener who wrote to KUT’s Hi, Who Are You? project: “‘Keeping it Weird’ is embodied by @godfatherofclubbing. Never met him, but regularly see him on the dance floor.”

KUT brought the story to the stage in January 2020 as part of “ATXplained Live,” an evening of live storytelling based on listener questions about the city’s people, places and culture.

This is the seventh national Murrow Award for the KUT newsroom.

Among the most prestigious awards in news, the Murrow Awards recognize local and national news stories that uphold the RTDNA Code of Ethics, demonstrate technical expertise and exemplify the importance and impact of journalism as a service to the community. Murrow Award winning work demonstrates the excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession. The award will be presented at National Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala on October 27, 2021.

A complete list of winners with links to the winning entries for the National Edward R. Murrow Awards is at rtdna.org.

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