Dave Cawley and the Cold podcast team won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards from RTDNA for their work on the Susan Powell case.
Investigative reporter Dave Cawley and the team behind the Cold podcast are the recipients of two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for their work on the Susan Powell investigation.
COLD: Susan Powell Case Files – the Untold Story won ‘Murrows’ for Large Market Radio in the categories of Excellence in Innovation and Investigative Reporting for the Radio Television Digital News Association, or RTDNA, in Region 3, which includes Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Regional winners are automatically under consideration for national awards, which are announced later in the year.
“The journalists behind this year’s awards have a deep connection to the communities where they live,” said Dan Shelley, RTDNA’s Executive Director. “Their reporting demonstrated a level of care for and awareness of their communities that isn’t always popular to highlight when we talk about journalism. The stories they told go deeper than the surface of problems and celebrations, and gave viewers insight into topics and places they may not encounter in their daily lives. The Edward R. Murrow Awards demonstrate how journalists help us break out of our echo chambers, and contribute to productive public dialogue that brings communities together for positive change.”
Cold, which launched in November, may be the most comprehensive review of the 2009 disappearance of Susan Powell to date. Cawley reviewed hundreds of tips and thousands of documents in the case, including never-before-heard audio journals from Josh Powell. He also uncovered people who had never been interviewed before, even by West Valley City police.
Susan Powell disappeared in December 2009. Her husband, Josh, has remained the sole suspect in the case, even though her body has never been found.
Josh Powell killed his sons and himself in a large house fire in Graham, Washington, in 2012. A year later, after his brother, Michael, died by suicide, police released much of the case files after declaring the case cold.
RTDNA has been awarding the best in journalism since 1971 with the Murrow Awards.