Gross selected for RTDNA’s highest honor; Mosley named to EBONY’s 2026 Power 100
Terry Gross
Tonya Mosley
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WHYY is celebrating two national honors recognizing the co-hosts of Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, whose thoughtful, revealing interviews deepen listeners’ understanding of the people and ideas shaping our world. Gross has been selected to receive the Radio Television Digital News Association’s 2026 Paul White Award, its highest honor, while Mosley has been named to EBONY’s 2026 Power 100 as a media industry leader.
Together, these recognitions celebrate two distinctive voices who elevate the art of conversation. Through careful preparation, perceptive questions and attentive listening, Gross and Mosley bring audiences closer to newsmakers, artists, writers and other influential figures. Their interviews explore the experiences, motivations and complexities behind public lives, making consequential ideas accessible and human stories resonant.
“Terry and Tonya have a remarkable ability to make an interview feel like a discovery shared with every listener,” said Bill Marrazzo, WHYY President & CEO. “They ask questions that open new paths to understanding and listen closely enough to follow where the answers lead. These honors recognize their extraordinary individual contributions and the transformative power of the journalism they and the Fresh Air team bring to audiences every day.”
Gross will receive the Paul White Award at the Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala on October 12, 2026, in New York City. Named for CBS’s first news director, the award recognizes a lifetime of achievement and service to journalism. Previous recipients include Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters and Ted Koppel.
“Few journalists have shaped the art of the interview quite like Terry Gross,” said RTDNA President and CEO Tara Puckey in announcing the honor.
Across five decades with Fresh Air, Gross has helped establish a standard for interviewing that combines intellectual rigor with warmth and curiosity. Her conversations invite guests to reflect deeply on their lives and work, offering listeners both fresh insight and a more nuanced understanding of the world.
Mosley’s inclusion in EBONY’s Power 100 recognizes her place among Black leaders and changemakers influencing culture and public life. The 2026 honorees will be celebrated November 9 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles under the theme “The Stories We Shape.” Mosley is the first public radio host named to the list.
An Emmy-winning journalist and former host of NPR’s Here & Now, Mosley became Fresh Air’s co-host in 2023. She brings incisive reporting and an empathetic approach to conversations that connect individual experiences with larger questions about culture, identity and society.
“This one is especially meaningful to me,” Mosley said in a statement reported by WHYY, recalling how she grew up reading EBONY and eagerly anticipating its annual Power 100 issue.
The honors affirm the enduring value of the kind of journalism Fresh Air delivers: engaging conversations that reward curiosity, make room for complexity and leave listeners with a deeper understanding of one another.
About Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley:
Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley is produced by WHYY in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Through in-depth interviews exploring contemporary arts, culture and issues, the program reaches more than 6 million listeners each week across broadcast radio and podcasts, with listeners in more than 200 countries and territories.
About WHYY:
WHYY, the Philadelphia region’s leading independent, non-commercial public media provider, has served southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and all of Delaware for more than 70 years. WHYY’s mission is to engage audiences, expand perspectives, and empower communities through lifelong learning, truthful reporting, healthy dialogue, and amplification of diverse voices. The station’s national production and presentation roster for public media includes Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, the award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues; the children’s arts education series Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt; the weekly science and health program & podcast, The Pulse as well as a variety of documentaries, series, and specials. WHYY also serves as the Local Primary 1 (LP1) station for the Philadelphia emergency alert system (EAS) operational area, acting as the region’s primary broadcaster for receiving and relaying emergency alerts to other stations and cable systems—ensuring the public receives timely and potentially lifesaving information. For more information, visit WHYY.org
Media Contact:
Gary Bramnick, WHYY
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
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Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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