The National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) announced Sunday that Arizona Public Media (AZPM) has received two Public Media Awards, recognizing excellence in marketing and communications for its Annual Report to the Community and visual arts for Rani Olson – Getting Free.
NETA’s annual Public Media Awards honor public media’s finest work in community engagement, content, education, marketing/communications, independent productions, and overall excellence. AZPM has won five PMAs since 2023, including two this year, marking the first time winning two in a single year.
“Congratulations to all of the Public Media Award winners. Their work is truly impactful,” said NETA President Eric Hyyppa. “In a time when connection and community matter more than ever, stations are bringing public media’s mission to life in powerful ways.”
AZPM’s two awards reflect the breadth of the organization’s work, from communicating its impact to telling compelling stories through visual media.
The award for the Annual Report to the Community is particularly meaningful, as it chronicles a landmark year for AZPM marked by significant audience growth, national and industry recognition, and the opening of the long-awaited, donor-funded Paul & Alice Baker Center for Public Media.
More about the winning projects:
Marketing/Communications
Annual Report
2024-2025 Annual Report to the Community
The 2024-2025 Annual Report to the Community chronicles a significant year for AZPM, highlighting audience growth, award recognition, and the opening of the Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media while demonstrating the organization’s continued service to Southern Arizona.
By: AC Swedbergh, Jessica Stephens, Ahmaad Lomax, Anne Simmons
Content
Visual Arts
Rani Olson - Getting Free
For Rani Olson, “Rocks are poems, memories, mirrors. They are very much alive—and listening.” A process-oriented artist, Rani sees art as a sacred mechanism for alchemizing human experience—transforming the invisible into form, emotion into expression, memory into matter. In her current body of work, she asks a profound question: “What does the world look like from the vantage point of rocks?”
By: Özlem Ayşe Özgür, Robert Lindberg, Emmanuel Joubeaud, Jim Blackwood
Together, the awards highlight AZPM’s commitment to serving Southern Arizona through impactful storytelling, innovative communications, and public media that connects with the community.
With the exception of overall excellence categories, stations compete within divisions based on station size. Awards are judged by expert panelists from within the public media system, as well as industry professionals working outside of public media.
The 2026 winners were announced on September 13, during the 58th Annual Public Media Awards during the 2026 NETA Conference in New Orleans. See the full list of winners here.