WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9 FM's Felicia Middlebrooks and Lola Vanderpuye Win Prestigious Gracie Awards
(CBS) -- Longtime WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9 FM morning drive co-anchor Felicia Middlebrooks, and WBBM Coordinating Producer Lola Vanderpuye have been honored with prestigious Gracie Awards, it was announced today. The Gracie Awards honor exemplary programming for, by and about women in all facets of media and entertainment, as well as individuals who have made contributions to the industry.
Middlebrooks won for anchor of a local news or news magazine program, and Vanderpuye won for local imaging for the Chicago Cubs.
Felicia Middlebrooks is recognized for her warm signature voice as co-anchor of the award winning morning drive program for WBBM Newsradio since 1984. She was the first woman in the nation to co-anchor mornings for a CBS Radio all-news station and the first African American in that position. Kicking off her career at WBBM-TV in 1982, Middlebrooks took a freelance position with WBBM radio and worked simultaneously in both newsrooms. She later joined WBBM radio full-time, becoming the station's youngest female anchor/reporter.
Felicia is the proud recipient of several awards, including the coveted Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in news, Associated Press Best Reporter Award, and kudos from United Press international, Women in Communications, The Urban League and American Women in Radio & Television.
She has also received the Peter Lisagor Excellence in Journalism Award for reporting, honors from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Illinois News Broadcasters. In 2006 she was inducted into the International Press Club's Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and in 2015 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Headline Club.
Starting as an Assistant Producer in the summer of 2009, Lola Vanderpuye quickly took on the role of Production Coordinator in 2010 and has successfully built her expertise. As an avid Cubs fan, Vanderpuye comprised an original, historic piece for Cubs Opening Day when WBBM took over as the team's flagship station.
Established in 1975, the Gracies benefits the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, a charitable non-profit that creates educational programs, charitable activities and scholarship initiatives to benefit the public and women in the media. The 2016 awards will be presented at the Gracies Gala on May 24 in Los Angeles, and the Gracies Luncheon on June 21 in New York. For more details on the announcement, please visit allwomeninmedia.org.