NOTE: THE AUDIO IN THE ENTRY IS SPLIT INTO TWO PARTS BECAUSE OF WEBSITE LIMITATIONS

WMAL News is proud to nominate its coverage of the June 14, 2017 shootings at the GOP Congressional Baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia as Outstanding Spot News in the 2018 Chesapeake Associated Press awards competition.

As is frequently the case in our hometown, what constitutes as national news elsewhere is local news for us. When semi-automatic gunfire was sprayed in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood, wounding four people including a GOP House leader, a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and a cop, WMAL news mobilized with the local coverage our listeners have come to expect.

As reporter Steve Burns raced to the scene, veteran WMAL talk host Vince Coglianese was able to describe his own personal memories of attending past GOP practices to bring listeners right to the field. We were also able to use the resources of our broadcast partner, CNN, to get the first eyewitness reports from members of Congress at the scene on the air.

Throughout the day, our staff interviewed local eyewitnesses, crime and political experts to put listeners in the middle of the drama.