Cronkite Award winners announced

Cory Bergman March 13th, 2007

USC’s Annenberg School announced its annual Cronkite Award winners for excellence in political journalism today. WBAL-TV and my station KING-TV won for overall achievement in local TV. NBC and Hearst-Argyle’s stations won on the group level. ABC News This Week with George Stephanopoulos took the award for best network program, and ABC News’ Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative Unit won a special achievement award.

PRESS RELEASE — Proving that good political coverage can make great television, the USC Annenberg School for Communication today announced the 2007 winners of the USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism:

Local Broadcast Station:
* KING, Seattle
* WBAL, Baltimore

Individual Achievement at a Local Station
* Greg Fox, WESH, Winter Park, Fla.
* Bill Hormann, WTVG, Toledo, Ohio
* Robert Mak (reporter) and Mike Cate (producer), KING, Seattle
* Ben Simmoneau (reporter) and Dan Maddox (photographer/editor), WGAL,
Lancaster, Pa.

Local Cable Station, Large Market
* NECN, New England Cable News

Local Cable Station, Small Market
* News 8 Austin

Local Public Station, Large Market
* WGBH, Boston

Local Public Station, Small Market
* Wisconsin Public Television

Large Station Group
* NBC Television Stations Division

Small Station Group
* Hearst-Argyle Television

National Network Program
* ABC News This Week with George Stephanopoulos

Special Achievement
* ABC News’ Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative Unit

“These Cronkite Award winners demonstrate that television can use its unparalleled storytelling skills to cover politics and campaigns in ways that respect its audience and inform our citizens,” said Martin Kaplan, USC Annenberg associate dean and director of the School’s Norman Lear Center.

The biennial awards have been administered since 2000 by the Norman Lear Center and honor the distinguished broadcast journalist and longtime CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.

“At a time when economic pressures threaten quality and reward sensationalism, it is heartening to me that there are broadcasters around the country who remain committed to getting it right, making it compelling and serving the public interest,” Cronkite said. “There is no better way to strengthen American democracy than to help citizens understand what is at stake in political campaigns.”

Judges evaluated entries for work covering the 2006 elections. They gave special consideration to in-depth, issue-focused reporting that informed viewers about their electoral choices, and that helped them understand ballot issues, the candidates involved, and how electoral choices will affect their lives.

For more information about each individual winner, visit http://www.annenberg.usc.edu

The awards will be presented on the USC campus in Los Angeles on April 19, at an event featuring a keynote speech by FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps.