“Story in the Public Square” Honored with Four Wins in 46th-Annual Telly Awards
NEWPORT, RI— For the ninth time in eight years, The Pell Center at Salve Regina University has been honored by the Telly Awards, winning four, this year, for “Story in the Public Square.” The show won two silver awards for its episode featuring veteran broadcast journalist Ray Suarez, one in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category and the other in the Social Impact category. It also won both a silver and a bronze award for its episode with award-winning journalist Sebastian Junger, the silver in the Biography category, and bronze in the Interview & Talk Show category.
In an episode originally broadcast in July 2024, acclaimed journalist Ray Suarez took stock of immigration in America today. He reflected on his recent book, “We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century,” in which Suarez features oral histories complied from immigrants across America that paint a picture of overcoming obstacles and working for better opportunities for themselves and their families. He says these people “know what it’s like to be in a country where the individual is not valued, the individual is not heard,” and their collective idea of America as a place of possibility continues to drive their optimism about the contributions they can make and the life they can create here.
The other winning episode featured acclaimed journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling-author of “The Perfect Storm,” Sebastian Junger. In the episode, Junger reflected on his personal experience with an aneurysm that almost claimed his life and how it shaped his views on an afterlife, all of which he recounts in his 2024 book, “In My Time of Dying.” After believing he saw his deceased father appear before him in the emergency room, Junger began studying the science behind this phenomenon, saying, “there may be something about the nature of reality, of consciousness, of the universe, of how things work at the subatomic quantum level that we just do not understand.”
The Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens and are judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, and production companies. This year’s winners include Adobe, Calvin Klein, ESPN, LinkedIn, Mother Jones, MTV Entertainment Studios, NASA, the LA Clippers (NBA), PlayStation Studios, Sawhorse Productions, TelevisaUnivison and more.
Jim Ludes, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Salve Regina University and co-host and co-executive producer of the show remarked on the awards: “We’re humbled and profoundly grateful to the crew that makes the show soar and the guests whose stories we have the privilege to help share every week. In Sebastian Junger and Ray Suarez, we knew we had two very special episodes, and we’re grateful the Telly Awards thought so, too.”
Co-host and co-executive producer G. Wayne Miller said, “winning four Telly Awards in one year is unprecedented for us and we owe these honors to our audience and the staff at our flagship station, Rhode Island PBS. This is an affirmation of our mission to study, inform and tell stories that matter.” He added, “to say I am excited would be an understatement!”
“Our industry is experimenting with new technologies like never before, shaping truly compelling stories to draw attention to some of the world’s most pressing issues,” shares Telly Awards Managing Director Amanda Needham. “The Telly Awards is uniquely positioned to meet the industry where it’s actually making work, be that on television or TikTok.”
With over 13,000 entries from across the globe and top video and television content producers. Winner’s were chosen by The Telly Awards Judging Council which includes Ben Wackett, Marketing Director, ENSO Sports & Entertainment Agency, Brian Toombs, Head of Roku Brand Studio, Lucy Shen, Creator Marketing Manager, Patreon, Irantzu Diez-Gamboa, CEO North America, MediaPro, Rosalind Pressman, VP Brand Marketing, Pluto TV, Adam Faze, Executive Producer, Gymnasium, James Young, EVP, Head of Creative Innovation, BBDO New York. The full list of the 46th Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners/.
“Story in the Public Square” has been in production at Rhode Island PBS since January 2017 and is currently seen in 85 percent of the nation’s television markets with nearly 500 weekly broadcasts nationally. It has won Telly Awards for excellence in politics and commentary, history and social impact in 2024 (two) 2022, 2021, 2020 (two); 2019, and 2018. The show is produced by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and presented by Rhode Island PBS via NETA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
Find Story in the Public Square:
On the Web: https://pellcenter.org/story-in-the-public-square/
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/StoryInThePublicSquare/
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9AgsEnJGAgXqTMp2CxA-4w
The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy is a think tank on the Salve Regina University campus in historic Newport, Rhode Island. Its programs on domestic and international issues are designed to generate new ideas, to expand public understanding of important issues and, ultimately, to help the public and its leaders make better decisions. Dedicated to honoring Sen. Claiborne Pell’s legacy, the center promotes American engagement in the world, effective government at home and civic participation by all Americans. The Pell Center accomplishes this through research and publications, public events and media programs that run throughout the year.