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Honoring WURD Radio for being nationally recognized as a nominee for an NAACP Image Award for its limited podcast series “Exonerated: The Cost of Wrongful Conviction,” which explores life after wrongful conviction in Philadelphia, exemplifying local journalism’s mission to explain, clarify, and nuance the diverse experiences of Philadelphians.
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WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s WURD Radio has, since 2002, proudly broadcast “unapologetically Black” progressive programming, “focused on empowering, educating, informing and inspiring anyone committed to the liberation of Black people in Philadelphia and beyond” as the only Black-owned and operated radio station in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, in reaction to decades of concerted, deliberate mass incarceration, the people of Philadelphia have consistently backed criminal justice reform efforts with their votes and dollars, electing officials across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches and funding organizations that have sought to correct mass jailing’s excesses, including through the work of identifying and overturning wrongful convictions; and
WHEREAS, WURD Radio, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, and Marrone Law Firm, joined forces to offer Philadelphians a glimpse of the life of the wrongfully convicted after incarceration through capturing the stories of William Bailey, Lance Felder, William Johnson, and John Miller in the limited podcast series “Exonerated: The Cost of Wrongful Conviction”; and
WHEREAS, “Exonerated” was nominated in the “Outstanding Podcast Scripted/Limited Series/Short Form” category in the 57th NAACP Image Awards, making WURD Radio the only local broadcast station nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award; and
WHEREAS, the work of local journalism is to explain, clarify, and nuance the diverse lives and experiences of Philadelphians with greater context, charity, and attention to detail than the national, corporate press; and
WHEREAS, Ashanti Martin, James Peterson, Teri Tillman, and Tiffany Bacon, respectively executive producer, host, producer, and editor/narrator of “Exonerated” worked to incorporate interviews with formerly, wrongfully convicted Philadelphians into the schedule for Evening WURDs, a talk and interview program that seeks dialogue with Philadelphians of all stripes; and
WHEREAS, squarely in the tradition of Black talk media, interviewees William Bailey, Lance Felder, William Johnson, and John Miller were given space to offer their unfiltered perspective on their experience, and to share the spiritual, physical, mental, and legal challenges, setbacks, and triumphs that shaped their journey; and
WHEREAS, “Exonerated” serves as counterprogramming in the mass incarceration era, similar to the votes and dollars of Philadelphians, meant to complicate the too simple story of “law and order” above all and the too easy silencing of the incarcerated that too often defines the news coverage of crime and community violence ; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA hereby congratulate and honor WURD Radio for its commitment to local, Black, progressive radio programming and presence in the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council wishes WURD Radio good fortune as it hopes to win an NAACP Image Award, but takes grateful relief in the daily service that the station offers to the listening public, knowing that is the ultimate prize.
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