Katie Couric's Sarah Palin Interview Wins Cronkite Award (VIDEO)

Katie Couric has won a Cronkite Award for her revealing, multi-part interview of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The Cronkite Awards have been presented biannually by the USC Annenberg School for Communication, in honor of CBS News legend Walter Cronkite, since 2000.

Couric won her award in the category "Special Achievement for National Impact on the 2008 Campaign." In the awards announcement, judges called Couric's interview with Palin a "defining moment in the 2008 presidential campaign," and described it as "extraordinary, persistent and detailed."

The interview — in which Palin spoke about Alaska's proximity to Russia and was unable to name a single national publication that she read — was an instant classic, and would be parodied on "Saturday Night Live," with Tina Fey playing Palin against Amy Poehler's Couric.

ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" also won a Cronkite Award, for its "On the Trail" series.

"Judges praised the incisive and compelling nature of the reports, as well as [Stephanopoulous'] thorough preparation," the announcement said.

Watch Couric's full award-winning interview with Palin below:

Comments

[kdlaiusa]

Ms Couric, I think the entire country is indebted to you and your interview with "that woman". Even though you may not believe in God, you should for once. So...thank the allmighty God for NOT putting her and McCain in the White House.

[Michelle Mixon]

Thanks You ...........Katie you played a large part in making sure this person was not a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

[HolePunchSD]

THIS was the interview that skyrocketed Couric's standing at CBS! It's also during this time that the McCain/Palin campaign was falling apart.
This is the interview in which all journalism students should study because it wasn't the difficult & complicated questions that SANK Gov. Palin, but actually the simple questions that completely threw her off of her game.
Katie Couric EARNED the Cronkite award! All the elements of great journalism are in this interview.

[Richard Biever]

Thank God, thank God, thank God this woman is nowhere near the White House! Thank you, Katie Couric!

[mitsie]

I love it, congratulations Katie

[rockinrod]

Deeply frightening to think that this nitwit could have been VP of our country...thank God that the American people voted against McCain/Palin!!!

[Freedomscap]

When people saw this interview they said: oh, hell, to the no.

[TivoliEclipse]

Oh, hell to the no.... love that! LOL!

[dengal]

I can believe she got an award for such in depth questions like "what do you read?"
but it did expose Sarah for what she is

[bastalready]

For Palin that certainly was an in depth question.

[dengal]

I guess it was relative to her subject, amazing piece of work that she is (sarah)

[kjstjohn]

Who else had the guts to ask her?

[bigmacha]

Much too painful to watch again. The country should be spared having to relive this idiocy.

[SpaghettyIrish]

Just wait for late 2011, early 2012. Idiocy will be on full display from the GOP, more so than usual, unless other candidates for nomination want to distance themselves from how stupid one of their fellow candidates is...y'know, the one with the shrill voice.

[x004Ronin]

The brilliance of Katie Couric's interview: Conservatives had to claim Sarah Palin was ready to assume the Presidency if needed despite her being unable to go head-to-head against Katie Couric without coming across like a fool. There was no good conservative response as to why Palin couldn't name a news publication she reads, except the truth: She doesn't read the news.

[SpaghettyIrish]

She's probably current on "Snow Machine Digest" you betcha.

[sippewissett]

I couldn't be happier for Couric -- and for the American people who discovered what a nitwit Palin is when she doesn't have RNC sound bytes or a teleprompter. An emptier head has not entered national politics for quite a while, male or female. Thanks to Katie Couric, MANY were saved from using the "Vote Republican" option in the voting booth.

[Layman23]

I cant watch this video. It gives me the creeps in a very nauseating way. Hats off to couric for asking the most fundamental questions and not letting the candidate dodge those.

You sure did bring the ignorance out of this woman. Way to go Katie !

[windchimes]

Jeeeez, Cronkite must be screaming in the wind. An award for this? This is the depth of 'journalistic" probing we are giving awards to these days.

Journalism has lost all it's balls, it's no fun watching these civilized suits being so politically polite as the f'ing infrastructure of this country has imploded on their watch. Pathetic, just pathetic!

[Freedomscap]

Agree.

[JRsNana]

How wrong you are. In the nicest possible way, Katie Couric exposed Sarah Palin for the fraud she is. If she had come out swinging she would have looked like a bully and people would have turned on Couric and defended Palin. It was classic and she greatly deserves this award.

[burnsknight]

Katie interviewed the quintessential easy target.
She couldn't lose.
Dine Sawyer woudl have shredded Palin

[iRob08]

Katie should get the Medal of Freedom next for exposing that whack job to America and causing McCain to lose. She did us a huge favor :)

[RoseMerry]

Yes, what DOES Walter have to say about this? Obivous question. Anyone bother to ask him?

[adsandiego]

Ahhh good times .... good times ....

[BeasleysMom]

Oh, no! Sideshow Sarah will not let this go by without comment. If we were to be real lucky, the media would ignore her or at least Greta will get the flu and not be able to work for a week.

[learnsomething]

I can see Russia from my house....bwahahahahahahaha