TW MAIN 10-06-08 A 13 TVWEEK 10/2/2008 5:49 PM Page 1 TELEVISIONWEEK October 6, 2008 13 INSIDE SPECIAL SECTION NewsproTHE STATE OF TV NEWS All About ABC The network’s news division will take home half the awards in national/syndie categories. Page 14 Engrossing Stories NBC News’ Bob Dotson gets fourth Murrow for stories that make viewers “late for the bus.” Page 14 Eyeing CBS’ Efforts CBS News, CBSnews.com are honored for excellence in real and virtual worlds. Page 16 ‘Sports Center’ a Winner for ESPN Saga of former tennis champ Andrea Jaeger offers perspective on her unique journey. Page 17 EDWARD R. Murrows Laud Excellence at Network, Local Levels MURROW By Debra Kaufman AWARDS Special to TelevisionWeek Honoring: The Radio-Television News Directors Association gathers Oct. 13 Survival Saga ESPN Deportes’ “Sobrevivientes” Excellence in at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York to present the 2008 Edward R. electronic tracks survivors of a rugby team’s plane crash in the Andes. Page 18 journalism Murrow Awards. Where: Grand In addition to recipients of the 38th Murrow Awards, winners Personal Touch Hyatt, New York of the RTNDA/Unity Awards—which acknowledge news organi- Seattle’s KOMO-TV takes large- When: Monday, market laurel for its “Problem Oct. 13 zations’ commitment to covering issues of diversity in their com- Solvers” franchise. Page 18 Presenters: munities—will be honored. Out of an initial pool of 3,459 entries, Lester Holt, Community Service Soledad O’Brien, 54 news organizations are being honored with 77 awards. In the small-market race, WJAR-TV Maggie “Everyone is proud of receiving an Edward R. Murrow leads way with public-service Rodriguez, Brian mandate. Page 20 Williams, Bob Award,” said RTNDA President Barbara Cochran. “What I like BARBARA COCHRAN Woodruff about the event itself is that we recognize a lot of excellent local RTNDA president Unity Award Winners Also to be pre- CNN, WTLV-TV and WHA-TV are sented: RTNDA work as well as the best of the network work. Many awards tend to be honored for covering diversity with Unity Awards dominated by the networks, but this is a great combination that shows distinction. Page 20 Details: rtnda.org the full range of excellence in news.” Continued on Page 19 TW MAIN 10-06-08 A 14 TVWEEK 10/2/2008 5:53 PM Page 1 14 October 6, 2008 TELEVISIONWEEK NEWSPRO 2008 Murrow Award Winners: TV Network/ ABC LEADS Syndication Service Overall excellence: ABC News Continuing coverage: CBS News, “Boots on the Ground” Feature, hard news: ABC News, “Children of War” WAY AT Feature reporting: CBS News, “The Way Home” Investigative reporting: ABC News, “Brian Ross Investigates: Prescription for Error” News documentary: ABC News, “To Iraq and Back: Bob MURROWS Woodruff Reports” News series: ESPN Deportes, FEELING THEIR PAIN “Sobrevivientes” (Still Alive) Network’s Divisions Injured in Iraq, Bob Newscast: CBS News, “The CBS Woodruff has returned to Evening News With Katie Couric” Show Their Range in that country to report on Winning Coverage soldiers with brain injuries. Sports reporting: ESPN, ESPN SportsCenter: “Sister Andrea By Hillary Atkin Jaeger” Special to TelevisionWeek would really concentrate on the sol- ABC News has a lot to celebrate diers and tell how they are doing, Spot news coverage: ABC when it comes to the 2008 Edward R. which is really more important.” News, “Minneapolis Bridge Collapse” Murrow Awards. The organization “I was deeply proud that he want- Videography: ABC News, “Key will take home six of the 12 broadcast ed to tell the story, but he insisted it to the World: Kiribati” honors being handed out in the not be simply about him but about Web site: CBS News, national television network and syn- other solders with similar brain cbsnews.com dication categories, including the top injuries,” Mr. Weston added. “He used award for overall excellence. his own experience to tell the story.” Writing: NBC News, “Today,” ABC also will take home the prizes ABC News chief investigative cor- “American Story With Bob Dotson” for hard news feature, investigative respondent Brian Ross will take home reporting, news documentary, spot the Murrow Award for “Prescription DOUBLE THREAT Dan news coverage and videography. for Disaster,” a look into how major hard to fix the problem if you don’t Harris will receive the hard ery as a springboard to report on the pharmacy chains allegedly cut cor- know the nature of it or have any docu- “We’re deeply honored,” said news reporting award and David Westin, president of ABC News. shares the spot news ordeals of wounded war veterans in ners in order to increase profits. In the mentation. We felt this impacted every “We do the work because we believe award with Chris Cuomo. a series of reports and an hourlong process, pharmacies sometimes give single person in the country, and that it in it and hope it matters to the audi- documentary, “To Iraq and Back: people the wrong medications or is important to know what’s going on ence, and it is gratifying to have our Bob Woodruff Reports,” which is the dosages, which can result in severe behind the scenes.” colleagues recognize us. If you look at Maine, which aired on “World News recipient of a Murrow Award. medical problems or even death. For “Key to the World: Kiribati,” specific things, you will see both the With Charles Gibson.” “Before this happened, I had “We found in many states, people ABC News photojournalist Mario depth and the intelligence of the The young man, Dan Azad, had never heard of traumatic brain with virtually no training are putting Conti will receive the Murrow Award reporting. It’s a very wide range of been a student in Baghdad when injury, and neither had most of the pills in bottles, and while a pharmacist for videography in a report by Bob reporting from different reporters, gunfire erupted outside his school, country,” said Mr. Woodruff. “When is there, they are put under strict quo- Weir on the remote Pacific Island around the world and country, on a killing his best friend. He was desper- we made the documentary, we tas to be efficient,” said Mr. Ross. “Even nation of 100,000 residents that is wide variety of topics.” ate to leave his violence-plagued decided it would include what hap- more telling was that a big chain like being eroded by ocean waters and With the eligibility period environment, and in the initial pened to us, but most importantly Walgreen’s doesn’t keep track, so it’s storm surges. ■ encompassing the 2007 calendar December 2006 story, he told ABC year, the news landscape was domi- News that his fondest wish was to nated by the war in Iraq, study in the United States. the Virginia Tech shoot- Offers of help came pour- ings and the Minneapolis ing in, and Mr. Azad was bridge collapse. able to enroll at Maine’s WRITER LETS IMAGES SPEAK ABC won for spot news Thomas College. The coverage for its reporting award-winning piece Dotson Wins 4th Murrow for The more straightforward story, on the Minnesota rush- begins when Mr. Harris and a second theme exploring hour disaster by Dan Har- meets the student upon ‘Today’s’ ‘American Story’ why these ordinary people “are ris and Chris Cuomo live arrival at New York’s By Elizabeth Jensen still at bat, when others might not on “Good Morning Ameri- Kennedy International Special to TelevisionWeek be. There’s some takeaway in ca.” In addition to inter- Airport. When the first Edward R. Mur- that,” he said. DAVID WESTIN viewing survivors and eye- “He idolized Ameri- row Award for writing was present- The majority of his two or three ABC News witnesses, they reported cans and America, and ed in 1999, NBC News’ Bob Dotson stories each month are culled from on possible causes of the tragedy, carried pictures of New York City in took it home. In subsequent years, Bob 40 to 50 weekly submissions which killed 13 people and injured his wallet,” Mr. Harris said. “It was the 34-year NBC veteran has won Dotson through the segment’s Web site. PR more than 100 on Aug. 1, 2007. amazing to watch him soak it all in, two more Murrows in the category pitches aren’t welcome. “Obviously, “The biggest challenge for any and to see the things he was and this year he is back again, for The stories that won him this the writing is only as good as the news organization is not only cover- impressed by, like Times Square, his work on “Today’s” “American year’s award chronicled brothers story you find,” he said, “so we keep ing the news but going beyond the which he loved. At first he was taken Story,” bringing his total to four. who found their father’s sunken digging and digging and digging.” news, and bringing things that are aback by people kissing on the street, With a background in docu- World War II submarine in the Mr. Dotson, who just turned 62, distinctive and valuable for the audi- but he is now very American; he mentary film, Mr. Dotson’s strate- Bering Sea when the Navy couldn’t recently signed a new four-year ence,” Mr. Weston said. “It’s especially wears baggy ripped jeans, his voice is gy is to let his images tell much of and an Idaho doctor who flies to contract. He praised the executive important to bring something unique deeper and he wears a hat off to the the story.