Religion Communicators Council names Wilbur Awardees

20 to receive organization’s top honors for 2024 work

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) proudly announces the 2025 Wilbur Award recipients, recognizing exceptional work by 20 media outlets completed in 2024 by the secular (non-religious) media in the fields of print and online journalism, book publishing, podcasts and radio, television and film.  

The Wilbur Award is the top honor provided by the RCC and is presented annually to recognize the most outstanding work in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media. Each winner will receive an individually crafted stained-glass Wilbur trophy.

The RCC has presented Wilbur Awards annually since 1949. Secular communicators enter work in several categories. Juries of media professionals, coordinated by council members across the country, evaluate submissions on content, creativity, impact and excellence in communicating religious values. The award is named for the late Marvin C. Wilbur, a pioneer in religious public relations, longtime council leader and former Presbyterian Church executive.

In selecting the Wilbur honorees, judges from throughout the U.S. evaluate content and creativity, execution and results. The ultimate criterion is brilliance in communication about faith and religion with fairness and professionalism, honesty and respect.

The awards will be presented Friday, April 25, in Salt Lake City  during the RCC’s annual convention, “Bridging Beliefs: Cooperation Through Communication.” The Wilbur Award presentation is open to the public at a cost of $125 per person; those interested in attending can register at  Religion Communicators Council (rccregistration.org); more about the convention is also posted at that site. Professionals in the field of religious communication are encouraged to attend the full convention and take advantage of an early-bird discount that ends on Friday March 14.

According to Teresa Faust, president of RCC’s Board of Governors, “Since 1949, the RCC has presented the Wilbur Awards to recognize excellence in the secular media in communicating about faith and religion. This year’s Wilbur recipients continue that rich tradition of excellence.”

She adds, “I encourage anyone working in the communications field to attend the Wilbur award presentation, as it is truly a celebration of inspiring stories as told by some of the best professional secular communicators working today.”

RCC’s Wilbur Award coordinator and RCC Board of Governors member Brad Pomerance notes, “I am impressed with the entries this year, which are heartening in how they approach topics of faith, not merely as a subject with a desire to foster understanding and connectedness. Their work reflects our convention’s theme of ‘cooperation through communication’ and is evidence of the important role of communication in building bridges among various groups.”

The Wilbur honorees include: Abraham’s Bridge; The Associated Press; The Baltimore Banner; Being Jewish with Jonah Platt; Bo Media, CBC Radio; CBS 60 Minutes; CBS Sunday Morning; The Epoch Times; Greater Grove Hall Main Street/Boston Herald; Harper’s Magazine; Hasidic Archives; Hey Jude Productions; National Public Radio; NPR News; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; The Politzer Foundation; Religion News Service; San Francisco Chronicle. The 2025 Wilbur award recipients’ details will be posted on the RCC website following the award presentation in April.

In addition to the 20 Wilbur winning entries, RCC will also be honoring 44 Award of Excellence Recipients and 25 Award of Merit Honorees; those awards will soon be announced. The Award of Excellence is for entries deemed to be of excellent quality and unquestionably worthy of recognition and the Award of Merit, which is presented for work deemed meritorious and worthy of acknowledgment.

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About the Religion Communicators Council
The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, marketing and development.

About the 2025 RCC Annual Convention
“Bridging Beliefs: Cooperation Through Communication” will be held April 24-26 in Salt Lake City. Sessions include media panel, interfaith panel, AI presentations, media training workshop, the “Dignity Index,” faith and entertainment, telling powerful stories of faith, and both the DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards and the Wilbur Awards. Several registration options are offered, including the full convention, single day and group rates; registration details and the online form are posted here.

Contact:
Ginny Hizer
Religion Communicators Council (RCC)
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.