IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

NBC News wins Emmy for Katrina coverage

“NBC Nightly News” received an award for breaking news coverage for its Sept. 1, 2005, newscast on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while the late Pete Jennings was also honored at Monday night's News & Documentary Emmy Awards in New York.
/ Source: Hollywood Reporter

Reports by the late Peter Jennings and a range of coverage of Hurricane Katrina and terrorism issues were among the winners Monday night at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards.

CBS' "60 Minutes" led all shows with three wins.

Many of TV journalism’s brightest lights were among the roughly 1,000 attending the ceremony at the Marriott Marquis, including NBC’s Brian Williams, ABC’s Charles Gibson and former “CBS Evening News” anchor Walter Cronkite, who received a standing ovation.

“NBC Nightly News” received an award for breaking news coverage for its Sept. 1, 2005, newscast on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

MSNBC is a joint venture between NBC and Microsoft.

“This is for all the terrific people who I’ve worked with, producers, writers and editors and correspondents who put everything down and moved to New Orleans, who knew they had to cover the biggest story in so many years,” Williams said.

Jennings, the longtime ABC News anchor who died in August 2005, and ABC received two awards for its series "Iraq: Where Things Stand," the network's weeklong report on the war in Iraq from early 2005, including outstanding continuing coverage and best story in a newscast. Jennings' executive producer, Jon Banner, accepted both awards, saying the reports were "a real tour de force for Peter" even though Jennings was only 71 days from disclosing that he had lung cancer.

CBS and PBS each received five awards (including two for "Frontline"), while the History Channel received four and ABC and National Geographic Channel each earned three. CNN and NBC received two awards, while Discovery Channel and WashingtonPost.com each received one. Cinemax Reel Life also won best documentary for "Born Into Brothels."

Also winning for investigative journalism in a nightly newscast was the "Money Trail" series on ABC's "World News Tonight" about big money and politics. "Anderson Cooper 360" won in the category of live coverage of a breaking news event for "Starving in Plain Sight," about the crisis in Rwanda. It also won a feature-story award for Dr. Sanjay Gupta's report on Charity Hospital in New Orleans after the hurricane.

Terrorism — and the coverage of it — was another strong thread in the awards this year. "60 Minutes" won an award for outstanding investigative journalism for "Rendition," about a secret CIA operation that brings terrorism suspects to Third World countries known for torture. "Frontline" won for outstanding longform investigative journalism for "The Torture Question," which documented the use of torture in American prisons like Abu Ghraib.

Bill Moyers, the PBS host and former CBS News analyst, received the lifetime achievement award. Moyers, a former aide in the Johnson administration, said he had to learn a lesson after leaving the White House.

"It's not how close you are to power but how close you are to the truth," Moyers said.

The ceremony will be telecast on C-SPAN at a date to be announced.

The winners:

  • Coverage of a breaking news story in a regular newscast: “NBC Nightly News” for “Hurricane Katrina: Moment of Crisis.”
  • Coverage of a continuing news story in a regular newscast: ABC’s “World News Tonight” for “Iraq: Where Things Stand.”
  • Feature story in a regular newscast: CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” for “Charity Hospital.”
  • Investigative journalism in a regular newscast: ABC’s “World News Tonight” for “Money Trail.”
  • Coverage of a breaking news story in a newsmagazine: CBS’ “60 Minutes” for “Aftershock.”
  • Coverage of a continuing story in a newsmagazine: CBS’ “48 Hours” for “Hostage.”
  • Feature story in a newsmagazine: CBS’ “60 Minutes” for “The Sea Gypsies.”
  • Investigative journalism in a newsmagazine: CBS’ “60 Minutes” for “Rendition.”
  • Live coverage of a breaking story (long form): CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” for “Starving in Plain Sight.”
  • Continuing coverage of a news story (long form): PBS’ “Frontline” for “The Storm.”
  • Investigative journalism (long form): PBS’ “Frontline” for “The Torture Question.”
  • Informational programming (long form): PBS for “Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge.”
  • Historical programming (long form): PBS’ “Slavery and the Making of America” for “Seeds of Destruction.”
  • Interview: CBS’ “60 Minutes” and Ed Bradley for “First Man.”
  • Cultural and Artistic Programming: For PBS’ “Independent Lens” for “A Lion’s Trail.”
  • Science, technology and nature programming: National Geographic Channel for “National Geographic Special: Predators at War.”
  • Story in a regular newscast: ABC’s “World News Tonight” for “Iraq: Where Things Stand.”
  • Newsmagazine report: “Dateline NBC” for “Children of War.”
  • Documentary: Cinemax’s “Cinemax Reel Life: Born into Brothels.”
  • Individual achievement in content for non-traditional delivery: washingtonpost.com for “Hurricane Katrina Coverage in New Orleans.”
  • Writing: Nic Young for the History Channel’s “Ape to Man.”
  • Research: Annie Herringer, Shelley Friedman and Laura Rabhan of the History Channel for “Save Our History: Voices of Civil Rights.”
  • Cinematography: Neil Rettig and Colin Stafford-Johnson for Discovery Channel’s “Mississippi: Tales from the Last River Rat.”
  • Editing: Tony Bacon for the History Channel’s “Beyond the Moon: Failure Is not an Option II.”
  • Graphic and artistic design: The National Geographic Channel for “National Geographic Special: Predators at War.”
  • Music and sound: The National Geographic Channel for “National Geographic Explorer: Deadly Love Channel.”
  • Lighting direction and scenic design: Jeff Baynes of the History Channel for “The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross.”
  • Regional news story, spot news: WBBM-TV for “Farewell to the Pope.”
  • Regional news story, investigative reporting: WBAL-TV for “Dirty Secret.”