After working as a KPCW news reporter for over two years, David Boyle is returning to his hometown in southern Utah—but not before garnering a batch of awards for KPCW.
Last week, Boyle was, for a change, the subject of an interview on KPCW. He said that he grew up in Monticello, in San Juan County.
“My dad owns the San Juan Record there, which is a weekly newspaper,” he said. “I grew up putting ads into inserts, and going to businesses and dropping off papers and picking them up. And that evolved to me working some summers, at my senior year of high school and then throughout college, worked for the newspaper.”
He went on to Brigham Young University in Provo, studying Communications and Media, and interning briefly at KUER in Salt Lake City before coming onboard KPCW in April of 2018.
Boyle said that since he and his wife just welcomed a baby, they decided to return home to southern Utah, where his father just acquired a commercial radio station.
He said he will work on county news for his family’s newspaper while their radio station will cover a region with a diverse population and controversial issues.
“There’s growth in the Spanish Valley, which is right next to Moab. And Monticello and Blanding have their challenges,” he said. “And down on the reservation, there’s even some basic needs that have issues being met, including a lot of homes don’t have electricity. So it’s definitely going to be diverse in our coverage. And we’re looking forward to expanding our coverage too on the Navajo Reservation. That’s a place that’s been underserved by news.”
This year, Boyle won six awards in the state competition held by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists Headliners.
The First Place honors include Best Radio Reporter for a story called “A Year in the Wasatch Back.” He also won in the category of Best General News for a report on the controversy over LGBTQ pride banners on Heber City’s Main Street.
He also won for Best Use of Sound for the profile of a veteran Park City mucking and drilling competitor and Best Multimedia for a story focusing on a special needs track sponsored by Wasatch, Park City and South Summit school districts.
Boyle's award-winning work can be viewed below this article.
