In 2016, Jamie Dupree lost his voice after falling ill on a family vacation. His voice didn’t come back. It took a year of visits to specialists around the country to diagnose the problem—a rare neurological condition called “tongue protrusion dystonia”. No treatment has worked. While Jamie continued blogging, tweeting, and proving invaluable behind-the-scenes guidance, his absence from the air was obviously a major blow to WSB.

After months without having Jamie's voice, WSB Radio's parent company, Cox Media Group discovered a potentially-pioneering approach to getting Jamie back on the air. They sent years' worth of his old radio reports to a software company in Scotland where Jamie's voice was essentially re-created electronically and dubbed Jamie Dupree 2.0.

WSB and Cox Media Group's Washington Correspondent, Jamie Dupree has been recognized for his outstanding achievement with the "Excellence in Innovation" award at the 2019 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Jamie Dupree 2.0.

The Regional Murrow Awards are the embodiment of the values, principles and standards set forth by Edward R. Murrow, a journalism pioneer who set the standards for the highest quality of broadcast journalism. Of the awards given to journalists, the Murrow Awards are among the most respected journalism awards in the world.

“The journalists behind this year’s awards have a deep connection to the communities where they live,” said Dan Shelley, Radio Television Digital News Association’s (RTDNA) Executive Director.

“Their reporting demonstrated a level of care for and awareness of their communities that isn’t always popular to highlight when we talk about journalism. The stories they told go deeper than the surface of problems and celebrations and gave viewers insight into topics and places they may not encounter in their daily lives.”

2019 RTDNA Regional Murrow Award winners will now move on to the national round of the competition. National winners, including Large and Small Digital News Organizations and Network News Organizations, will be announced in June.