Neal Augenstein
Ever since 1997, when Neal Augenstein kept nudging the then-news director to hire him as a part-time weekend reporter, he’s had the great pleasure of being a reporter for WTOP.
In 2013, Neal took on the role of Tech Editor, overseeing the growth of the WTOP.com tech section.
Things have changed in many ways. When he walked in the door, the newsroom was still equipped with reel-to-reel tape recorders, and the portable bag phones that weighed as much as a bowling ball. Today, Neal is the first major market radio reporter who does most of his field production on an iPhone.
Through the years, Neal has covered many of the crimes and trials that have gripped the Washington community – including the Beltway Snipers, Chandra Levy, and of course, Sept. 11, 2001. But ironically, listeners seem to remember the lifestyle and feature reports – cooking food on the dashboard of his car in 100 degree weather, butt-lifting underwear and pole dancing for guys.
Neal’s been pleased to receive awards over the years for hard news, feature reporting, use of sound and sports. However, he’s most proud when people he reports about tell him they believe his reporting is accurate, fair and in context.
Neal’s ultimate honor is having listeners trust him and the WTOP team, to provide information they need and enjoy in their life.
You can email Neal at naugenstein@wtop.com or follow him on Twitter @AugensteinWTOP.
Latest Articles by Neal Augenstein
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Park Service: 1 week for operators, animals of Claude Moore Colonial Farm to leave
“You are required to remove all temporary, movable improvements and personal property, including livestock, porta-potties, and property in the pavilion area,” wrote Blanca Alvarez Stransky, acting superintendent of the National Park Service.
2 days ago -
Man who painted swastikas on Va. Jewish center gets 21 months in jail
Dylan Mahone of Annandale pleaded guilty to spray-painting racist graffiti on both the center and a church as well as to posting anti-Semitic fliers on a community college campus last year.
2 days ago -
Food safety violations at Nats Park and FedEx Field, ESPN report says
An ESPN investigation of food-safety inspections at professional baseball, football, basketball and hockey venues determined Nationals Park and FedEx Field ranked among those with the highest violation rates in the country.
2 days ago -
Bond denied for DC priest charged with child sex abuse
A judge on Thursday ordered the Rev. Urbano Vazquez, a D.C. priest accused of sexually abusing parishioners, to remain in a local jail cell until trial despite an offer from a robed friar to ensure Vazquez would have no contact with children at the Pittsburgh-area friary where he had been staying.
3 days ago -
Facing deportation, mother of 3 granted sanctuary in Bethesda church
Last week, immigration officials ordered a 40-year-old mother of three to return to her native El Salvador. But Rosa Gutierrez Lopez, who fled from El Salvador in 2005, was granted sanctuary in a Bethesda, Maryland church.
3 days ago -
Child sex victim was afraid to report DC priest because ‘his family had a witch in it’
Charging documents allege a D.C. Catholic priest — charged with sexual misconduct with three parishioners — preyed on the fears of an 11-year-old-girl and sexually abused her for an entire year.
4 days ago -
DC priest arrested on 2 new charges of sexual misconduct
The arrest came just 24 hours after the Rev. Urbano Vazquez waived a probable cause hearing, putting his case regarding the 2015 misconduct allegations on track to the grand jury.
5 days ago -
Uncertainty, trial delays pain parents of U.Md. murder, hate victim
For the parents of newly-commissioned U.S. Army Lieutenant Richard Collins III, the pain hasn’t stopped since he was stabbed to death May 20, 2017, while visiting University of Maryland — and the possibility of more delays makes matters worse.
5 days ago -
DC priest accused of touching 3 girls waives hearing; case sent to grand jury
The Rev. Urbano Vazquez is accused of inappropriately touching three teenage parishioners in May 2015 at the church. So far he’s been charged with one count.
6 days ago -
30 years later, groundbreaking book ‘Banned in DC’ still reverberates
Thirty years after the release of a groundbreaking book about D.C.’s hardcore punk scene, its author says some of the messages are as resonant today as when the book first came out.
7 days ago -
They’re coming: Loudoun Co. warns of invasive spotted lanternfly
An invasive insect that feeds on more than 70 plants will likely soon be found on Loudoun County grape and hops vines and fruit trees. A Virginia horticulturist says, “I don’t think we can prevent it.”
1 week ago -
Loudoun Co. targets stray gunfire incidents
After at least eight incidents of gunfire hitting homes since May, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is considering ways to lower the risk — but lawmakers have different views on how to accomplish the goal.
1 week ago -
Closing arguments due in Charlottesville car crash murder trial
Closing arguments are expected Thursday in the murder trial of James Alex Fields, who is charged with driving his car into a group of counter-protesters during the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1 week ago -
James Alex Fields shows remorse, scorn after fatal Charlottesville car crash
Jurors heard James Alex Fields tell very different stories in describing the fatal crash that killed counter-protester Heather Heyer during the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
2 weeks ago -
Prosecutors use Hitler image texted to mother in James Alex Fields murder trial
Prosecutors hope to use a text exchange between James Alex Fields and his mother, in a murder trial related to the 2017 Charlottesville white nationalist rally.
2 weeks ago
