CBS Evening News Wins Murrow Award For "Best Newscast"

Katie Couric's CBS Evening News, which has suffered through dismal ratings during her entire tenure as anchor (and for some time before that), got some much needed good press Tuesday when it was announced that it was the winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast for its August 9, 2007 broadcast.

ABC News was the big winner, taking in six awards, including one for Overall Excellence. CBS News won four awards, while NBC won just one (for writing).

Iraq coverage was also a major award winner, with Lara Logan's "Boots on the Ground" series winning the "Continuing Coverage" award and Kimberly Dozier's "The Way Home" feature winning the "Feature Reporting" award for CBS, and Bob Woodruff's "To Iraq and Back" winning the "News Documentary" award and Dan Harris' "Children of War" winning the "Hard News" award for ABC.

In a statement, CBS Evening News Executive Producer Rick Kaplan said he was very proud of both Couric and Logan:

"I'm very proud of all the women and men of CBS News who have been honored by winning so many of the Edward R. Murrow Awards. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric winning a Murrow on what many would call an average news day just illustrates that the broadcast is a stand-out, on any given day. Katie and the team work diligently every day and it really is gratifying when your work is recognized. Lara Logan's series for the Evening News about American troops in Baghdad is just part of the great journalism Lara brings to viewers in her fearless and insightful reporting. My congratulations go out to everyone at the various CBS News broadcasts, radio and website who were recipients today."

List of network awards below:

Television Network/Syndication Service

Overall Excellence: ABC News
Continuing Coverage: CBS News, Boots on the Ground
Feature: Hard News: ABC News, Children of War
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 Woodruff Reports
News Series: ESPN Deportes, Sobrevivientes - Still Alive
Newscast: CBS News, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
Sports Reporting: ESPN, ESPN SportsCenter: Sister Andrea Jaeger
Spot News Coverage: ABC News, Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Videography: ABC News, Key to the World: Kiribati
Website: CBS News, cbsnews.com
Writing: NBC News - The Today Show, American Story with Bob Dotson

For the full winners list, click here.

Comments

[Caolas]

Jim Lehr's News program is the only one worth watching.

[kroses98]

I beg to differ. I say it is Keith Olbermann's program. Jim Lehr has turned into another hack!

[imsosure]

bwahahahaha bull

[Trittydi]

Says a lot about the award - unfortunately.

But we turned the television off about 15 years ago. I didn't want corporate America to own my kids. Best parenting decision we ever made.
*

[MM5]

I agree...we don't even allow PBS kids' shows at home - seems like there is more stuff at stores like Target and Walmart based on these PBS charaters than any other network. Nothing like making the little ones rabid consumers.

[Trittydi]

We REALLY turned it off - nothing.

If you did this some time ago, you know how it pays off -- if you did it recently - You WILL see.

Then we stopped buying newspapers about 8 years ago. Virtually all complete and useless conservative rags - I wouldn't even pick up a free NY Times these days.
*

[MissT]

Wonder who fixed that?

[bazokbros]

Oh I think Les Moonves might have a little to do with this award. I wonder if the plan is if Katie leaves this sophomoric broadcast, will Julie Chen be waiting in the wings? A little suspicious that one of the most maligned broadcasts is one of the best.

Supposedly reports such as this make the CBS Evening News the best. $7 gas in their view isn't bad.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2008/06/27/cbs-news-portrays-7-gas-positive

[ohmercy]

wooohoooo.

Excuse me a minute, let me catch my breath.
The very best thing about this is how it must piss off Keith Rovermann.
Or is it Olberrove.
I just can't keep up with the ins and outs of the name calling.
LOL

The second best thing is reading the puerile mudslinging from all those who admittedly never watch her newscast.

Actually I don't either so I have no idea wether it is deserved or not but oh I sure am happy that she won it.
I truly am.
Success is the best revenge so they say...
Revenge is sweet, eh Katie?

oh the delicious irony, the luscious justice of it all.
To celebrate I think I'll do some of my own puerile mudslinging somewhere on the Huffington Post.
Then I think I'll pop over to EmptyWheel for an adult conversation.
LOL

buh bye

[LiberalBuzz]

There is no doubt in my mind that this was bought and paid for in a last ditch attempt to salvage some sort of ratings bump. Perky is losing the ratings race and what's a few million between friends when something worth TENS of millions might be on the line.

No doubt at all.

[Totto]

Worked at CBS Chicago in the mid-sixties. The newsroom was totally independent. Excellent writing and investigative reporting on the network. Extremely serious about the news. Talented and commited people eventually had a large role in putting a stop to Vietnam.

[kroses98]

That was the OLD CBS!

[Totto]

Journalism. Surely they jest. Don't call me Shirley!

[FreeThinkn1]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bar1ed]

was there a category for lying?

[sassafra]

well, i guess i know what award isn't worth squat any more...

[FreeThinkn1]

You took the words right off of my keyboard!!!

[Busterdawg]

Katie wins the Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast?!

Olbermann's head must have exploded.

[ohmercy]

I KNOW!

Oh the poetry of it all!
LOL

[filmophile75]

From the greatest anchor in the history of network news, Walter Cronkite, to the "Swift Boating" of Dan Rather, and his shoddy, despicable, treatment by Lesley Moonves? I rest my case. The rapid decline of CBS News has been nothing short of staggering,Tiffany Network indeed! Couric is a sad, pathetic, example of the stunning mediocrity of the network MSM anchors..

[Kim445588]

The idiocy of the whole thing just reinforced his point.

[patmancando]

Anyone watch it happen tonight? I really love that visualization............I forgot, but I was busy elsewhere. I refuse to watch him after his bellicose SCs bashing HRC. He probably named her worst-est person in the world for not conceding the prize to him.......

[bikerdude]

Interesting. I am a news junkie and have never watched Kouric's show...and it won an award?
Looking at that list of awards, it seems like something put together for republican consumption or some area of the population to whom I never speak...

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

Yikes!

[wagadog]

Oh yeh. Like she's better than Amy Goodman who is actually a real journalist? More incisive commentary than KO and Rachel Maddow?

gimme a break.

[jw]

Surely the Radio-Television News Directors Association is not afraid to reward honest reporting? Let me take my tongue out of my cheek and say that almost all TV network reporting is afraid not to kiss up to the guvmint.