Move over Mike Deeson, there's another reporter garnering acclaim for his investigative reporting at Channel 10 News.
That would be WTSP television reporter Noah Pransky, who on Wednesday learned that he and photographer Paul Thorson were awarded the 2013 Edward R. Murrow Award for Large Market Television/Sports Reporting. They won the award for their story "Soccer Safety Ignored," which investigated how hundreds of soccer goalposts throughout the Tampa Bay area were not properly anchored to the ground. Such sloppy and lazy groundskeeping led to the deaths of 37 kids since 1979, including one in Polk County who was featured in the report.
"The award is a tremendous honor," Pransky said in a press release. "We take a lot of pride in serving as the public's watchdog, and in this case, looking out for children's safety."
The Channel 10 reporter may earn more hardware next year for his series of recent reports, which revealed that a number of cities and counties in the Sunshine State have exploited shortened yellow times at red light cameras.
Watch Noah's report on WTSP from May 15:
The 10 News Investigators discovered the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) quietly changed the state's policy on yellow intervals in 2011, reducing the minimum below federal recommendations. The rule change was followed by engineers, both from FDOT and local municipalities, collaborating to shorten the length of yellow lights at key intersections, specifically those with red light cameras (RLCs).While yellow light times were reduced by mere fractions of a second, research indicates a half-second reduction in the interval can double the number of RLC citations — and the revenue they create. The 10 News investigation stemmed from a December discovery of a dangerously short yellow light in Hernando County. After the story aired, the county promised to re-time all of its intersections, and the 10 News Investigators promised to dig into yellow light timing all across Tampa Bay.
Red light cameras generated more than $100 million in revenue last year in approximately 70 Florida communities, with 52.5 percent of the revenue going to the state. The rest is divided by cities, counties, and the camera companies. In 2013, the cameras are on pace to generate $120 million.