Sound and Sight: Radio Networks Augment Audio With Compelling Visuals

Mar 04, 2025

Ken Klein

The image shows two panels. The left panel features a graph indicating the rise of internally displaced persons in Myanmar from February 2021 (0) to January 2023 (1.24 million). The right panel shows an arrest scene with "17,438 people arrested" text. — Credit: Photos by Gemunu Amarasinghe, graphics by Amanda Weisbrod / Radio Free Asia

If you’re looking for captivating graphics and visuals in news media, check out radio.

NPR posts The Picture Show. Its online content February 12 featured 10 images by Getty Images photographers (Photos: See what happened at the Westminster Dog Show)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty closed the year with this post: How its photographers “captured their best photos of 2024.”
Ernie Pyle (1900-1945) was a legendary World War II reporter known for dispatches about ordinary soldiers. NPR won the 2024 Scripps Howard Journalism Award (“Excellence in Narrative Human-Interest Storytelling, honoring Ernie Pyle”). The award announcement highlights the sight-sound combination of modern radio: “NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny and photographer Claire Harbage spent eight months traveling to different countries and continents to share stories of a kindergarten class and its teacher from Kharkiv, Ukraine. The resulting mix of audio, visual, and written reporting told the complicated stories of the children and their families after their classroom shut down, followed by trauma, changes, and fear.”
NPR’s award-winning report on the aftermath of friendly fire in Iraq includes photos by Getty Images, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Bloomberg, and NPR staff photographers.

Broadcaster Edward R. Murrow’s Legacy

Since 1971, broadcast media have honored excellence via the Edward R. Murrow Awards, named for the revered journalist.

A gold medal with the inscription "Radio Television Digital News Association" around the edge and "Edward R. Murrow Awards" below, featuring a raised portrait of a man in the center.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) won a 2024 Murrow Award in the digital category for network radio. RFA’s multimedia report “Under the Gun in Myanmar” examined horrific conditions since a 2021 coup. This award-winning story exemplifies network radio’s use of visuals and audio to deliver engaging information.

“Visual storytelling creates crucial entry points to information, making complex, critical news more accessible and engaging,” says H. Leo Kim, Creative Director at RFA. “Our team enhances content with compelling graphics and multimedia.”

Most of RFA’s content is delivered digitally via social media, podcasts, and online news. Shortwave radio reaches Myanmar refugee camps and closed-media areas such as North Korea.

The Credits

RFA’s published credit list for its Murrow Award-winning report names contributors for graphics, writing, video, visual editing, and web page:

Text list of contributors for a project by Radio Free Asia, including report, graphics, cover, writing, video, text editing, visual editing, and web production roles with names associated with each part.

Where Did the Story Idea Come From?

The story idea originated from RFA’s Creative Director Kim and Visual Project Manager Paul Nelson. They initiated an ambitious project to mark the two-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, collaborating with RFA’s Burmese service, while Graphic Designer Amanda Weisbrod played a key role in crafting the data visualizations, according to Kim.

Visual Journalist Gemunu Amarasinghe came up with the lead image concept, which involved printing out the faces of each junta member. Amanda Weisbrod handwrote their names and other team members added the images to a cork board with red string. This image, said Kim, captured the essence of the teamwork.

Collage with a central figure in uniform surrounded by black-and-white photos and red strings. Captions show names and dates. Headline reads, "RFA special report on Myanmar crisis wins National Murrow Award.

RFA’S Kim and Weisbrod and photojournalist Harbage of NPR graduated from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication.

Kim is a former staff photographer/multimedia lead at The Virginian-Pilot and Director of Visuals and Creative Content for USA Today Network in Southwest Florida.

A person with a beard, wearing glasses and a black turtleneck, stands near a glass wall with blurred text. The lighting casts a soft shadow, and the atmosphere is calm and professional. — RFA Creative Director H. Leo Kim | Photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe/RFA

Seeing Is Believing

Like most media awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award has multiple categories, including writing.

Two men are maneuvering a giant pumpkin onto a platform inside a building. One man is pushing while the other assists. The walls are gray, and metal racks are visible in the background. — Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media

The 2024 Murrow Award for Small Market Radio/Excellence in Writing went to Alaska Public Media for Liz Ruskin’s story on giant pumpkins grown in Alaska. Posted above Ruskin’s award-winning text is a photo of pumpkin grower Dale Marshall maneuvering a huge pumpkin toward a scale.

About the author: Ken Klein lives in Silver Spring, Maryland; he is retired after a career in politics, lobbying, and media including The Associated Press and Gannett in Florida. Klein is an alumnus of Ohio University and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Scripps College of Communication. Professionally, he has worked for Fort Myers News-Press (Gannett), The Associated Press (Tallahassee), Senator Bob Graham, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).