Hearst-Argyle Television Receives Fifth Consecutive Walter Cronkite Award For Political Journalism
10 Marzo 2009 - 10:40AM
PR Newswire (US)
Station Group, Sole Recipient in its Category since the Cronkite's
2001 Inception, Once Again Earns Nation's Highest Honor for
Election, Issues Reporting on Local TV NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES,
March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.
has earned its fifth consecutive USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite
Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism, in
recognition of coverage of the 2008 election season. The Cronkite
Awards, named for the legendary CBS newsman, were established at
the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for
Communication following the 2000 election season to recognize
excellence in television coverage of politics and political issues,
quickly becoming the industry's most recognized honor in the field.
They have been issued five times - following the 2000, 2002, 2004,
2006 and 2008 election seasons. The Hearst-Argyle station group has
received the Cronkite for the Station Group category each time; its
five consecutive honors surpass the total of Cronkites to any other
single entity in any category during the life of the awards.
According to the judges, Hearst-Argyle was recognized "for its
commitment to airing political coverage on all its 25 stations
across the country." Hearst-Argyle, judges wrote, "renews and
revises its philosophy for each election cycle, in 2008 increasing
candidate-centered coverage in prime newscasts to 10 minutes per
day." Judges were "impressed by the work of several stations,
including a report on voters tricked into signing anti-affirmative
action initiatives, and a how-to on hacking electronic voting
machines." Also honored, in the Local Broadcast Station category,
was Hearst-Argyle's WGAL-TV, serving the Lancaster/Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, television market. According to the judges, WGAL
"used its eight full-time staff members dedicated to political
coverage to offer viewers thought-provoking and visually engaging
stories about the presidential campaign, as well as congressional
and state-level races." Judges "made special note of the
surprisingly probing and revealing interviews with Obama and McCain
and the overall entertaining, engaging and innovative reporting."
Sharing honors in this category was Belo Corporation's KING-TV,
Seattle, a third-time winner in this category. Greg Fox, reporter
at Hearst-Argyle's WESH-TV, serving the Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne,
Florida, TV market, was honored for a second time in the category
of Individual Achievement at a Local Station. According to the
judges, he was recognized for "excellent journalistic analysis and
helping voters evaluate what candidates say in a 'Truth Tests'
series." Judges praised Fox's work as "comprehensive, innovative,
engaging and compelling" and added, "This should be sent out to
every station as a model." Other honorees in various categories
included Wisconsin Public Television, PBS Network's "NOW," ABC's
"This Week with George Stephanopolous" and CBS anchor Katie Couric.
"These Cronkite Award winners prove that thoughtful, informative
political coverage can also make for gripping television," said USC
Annenberg professor Martin Kaplan, director of the School's Norman
Lear Center, which administers the biennial awards. "Americans may
have more places to turn for political news than ever before, but
television remains journalism's largest public square," Cronkite
said. "These awards honor reporters, producers, news directors,
stations and anchors who take advantage of that reach, and who live
up to that responsibility. Especially when resources are painfully
scarce, it's important to celebrate journalists who use their
skills at storytelling to strengthen our democracy." The panel of
eight judges was chaired by Geneva Overholser, director of the USC
Annenberg School of Journalism. Entries were screened by 22
Annenberg faculty and alumni with experience in broadcast
journalism. The awards will be presented on the USC campus in Los
Angeles on April 15. Located in Los Angeles at the University of
Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication
(http://www.annenberg.usc.edu/) is among the nation's leading
institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication,
and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an
enrollment of more than 1,900 graduate and undergraduate students,
USC Annenberg offers degree programs in journalism, communication,
public diplomacy and public relations. The Norman Lear Center
(http://www.learcenter.org/) studies the impact of entertainment on
society, including its effect on the quality of television news.
For more information about the Cronkite Awards, visit
http://www.reliableresources.org/. Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. a
leading local media company, owns 26 television stations, and
manages an additional three television and two radio stations. The
Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV
households, making it one of America's largest television station
groups. It also owns 30 websites and 19 digital multicast channels
providing news, weather and entertainment programming.
Hearst-Argyle is majority-owned by Hearst Corporation. The
Company's Web address is http://www.hearstargyle.com/. DATASOURCE:
Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. CONTACT: Tom Campo of Campo
Communications, LLC for Hearst-Argyle, +1-212-590-2464, ; or Adam
Rogers of USC, +1-323-782-3311, Web Site:
http://www.hearstargyle.com/ http://www.learcenter.org/
http://www.reliableresources.org/
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