Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award

Award honoring excellence in broadcast and digital journalism
Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award
Awarded forThe best in television, radio, and digital journalism
LocationNew York City
Country United States
Presented byColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Websitedupont.org

The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered until 1967 by Washington and Lee University's O. W. Riegel, Curator and Head of the Department of Journalism and Communications.[1] Since 1968 they have been administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, and are considered by some to be the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, another program administered by Columbia University.[2]

Dedicated to upholding the highest journalism standards, the duPont awards inform the public about the contributions news organizations and journalists make to their communities, support journalism education and innovation, and cultivate a collective spirit for the profession.

The duPont-Columbia Awards were established by Jessie Ball duPont in memory of her husband Alfred I. du Pont. It is the most well-respected journalism-only award for broadcast journalism; starting in 2009, it began accepting digital submissions. The duPont, along with the George Foster Peabody Awards, rank among the most prestigious awards programs in all electronic media.

The duPont-Columbia jury selects the winners from programs that air in the United States between July 1 and June 30 of each year. Award winners receive batons in gold and silver designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn. The gold baton, when awarded, is given exclusively in honor of truly outstanding broadcast journalism.

Notable winners

In 2003, the first-ever foreign-language program was awarded a duPont-Columbia Award: CNN en Español and reporter Jorge Gestoso won a Silver Baton for investigative reporting on Argentina's desaparecidos.

In 2010, the first award for digital reporting was given to MediaStorm and photographer Jonathan Torgovnik for "Intended Consequences" about children born of rape in Rwanda.

In 2012, the first-ever theatrically released documentary film was honored by the duPont jury: the Oscar-nominated Hell and Back Again, about the war in Afghanistan and the struggles facing veterans when they return home.

Note

All winners are listed on the website of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[3]

duPont Award

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

duPont–Columbia Award

1969

1971

1972

  • CBS News, John Sharnik and Eric Sevareid, "Justice in America"
  • Group W, George Moynihan and Susan Garfield, "All The Kids Like That: Tommy's Story"
  • KUTV, Salt Lake City, Richard Spratling, Diane Orr and Fred Edwards, "Warriors Without A Weapon"
  • NBC News, William B. Hill and Tom Pettit, "First Tuesday: The Man from Uncle (Sam)" and "The FBI"
  • NBC News, Martin Carr, "White Paper: This Child is Rated X"
  • WABC-TV, Geraldo Rivera, "Drug Crisis in East Harlem"

1973

  • Mike Wallace for outstanding reporting on CBS News "60 Minutes"
  • CBS News, Perry Wolff, Robert Markowitz, and Charles Kuralt, "CBS Reports: ...But What If the Dream Comes True?"
  • Group W, Dick Hubert and Paul Altmeyer, "The Search for Quality Education"
  • KERA-TV, Dallas, for outstanding coverage of the 1972 political campaigns
  • National Public Affairs Center for Television, for coverage of the 1972 political campaigns
  • NBC News and Fred Freed, "White Paper: The Blue Collar Trap"
  • WABC-TV, Richard Thruston Watkins, "Like It Is: Attica -- the Unanswered Questions"
  • WNET-TV, New York, and Tony Batten, "The 51st State: Youth Gangs in the South Bronx"
  • WNJT-TV, Trenton, New Jersey, Ken Stein and John Dimmer, "Towers of Frustration: Assignment: New Jersey"
  • WTVJ-TV, Miami, "The Swift Justice of Europe" and "A Seed of Hope"

1974

1975

1976

  • KNBC, Burbank, California, Don Harris, "Prison Gangs"
  • NBC Nightly News and Tom Pettit for a series on feeding the poor
  • NPR, All Things Considered
  • WBTV, Charlotte, for news and documentary programming
  • WCCO, Minneapolis, Minnesota, David Moore, "Moore on Sunday"
  • WCCO Radio, Minneapolis, for news and documentary programming
  • WGBH, Boston, Roger Fisher, "Arabs and Israelis"
  • WHEC, Rochester and Warren Doremus, "The Riots Plus Ten Years"
  • WKYC, Cleveland and Brian Ross, "Teamster Power"
  • WPLG, Miami and Clarence Jones, for crime reporting

1978

1979

  • Associated Press Radio, "The New South: Shade Behind the Sunbelt"
  • KOOL-TV, Phoenix, Burt Kennedy, "Water: Arizona's Most Precious Resource"
  • KPIX-TV, San Francisco, Robert Klein and Richard Hart, "Laser Con-Fusion"
  • National Geographic Society and WQED-TV, Pittsburgh, "The Living Sands of Namib"
  • NBC News, Robert Rogers and Garrick Utley, "NBC News Reports: Africa's Defiant White Tribe"
  • WBBM-TV, Chicago, Illinois, Gail Sikevitz, Scott Craig, Jim Hatfield, and Mort Crim for documentary reporting
  • WFAA-TV, Dallas, Texas, Byron Harris for investigative report
  • WGBH-FM, Boston, "Banned in Chelsea"
  • WGBH-TV, Boston and William Cran, "WORLD: Chachaji: My Poor Relation" and John Angier, "NOVA: The Final Frontier"
  • WMHT-TV, Schenectady, "Capital Punishment: Inside Albany"
  • WPLG-TV, Miami and Clarence Jones for investigative reporting
  • Special Award: Richard Salant

1980

1981

1982

1984

  • SILVER BATON CBS News, "60 Minutes: Good Cop, Bad Cop; Honor Thy Children; and Go Park It in Tokyo"
  • SILVER BATON John Camp and WBRZ, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, For investigative reporting
  • SILVER BATON KCTS-TV, Seattle, Washington and Face to Face Productions, "Rape: Face to Face" (directed by Nicholas Kendall and Keet Neville)
  • SILVER BATON KRON-TV, San Francisco, California, "The War Within" (Greg Lyon and Jonathan Dann, reporters)
  • SILVER BATON National Public Radio, "The Most Dangerous Game: Nuclear Face-off in Europe"
  • SILVER BATON NBC News, "News Overnight"
  • SILVER BATON Richard Threlkeld, Status Reports on "ABC World News Tonight"
  • SILVER BATON SPECIAL INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION AWARD: Jon Alpert and NBC News, "American Survival" (aired on Today[9])
  • SILVER BATON Terry Drinkwater, Cancer Reports on "CBS Evening News"
  • SILVER BATON WBBM-TV, Chicago, Illinois, "Killing Crime: A Police Cop-Out"
  • SILVER BATON WMAQ-TV, Chicago, Illinois, "Unit 5: The Chicago Police Investigations"
  • SILVER BATON WSMV-TV, Nashville, Tennessee, "Innocent Shame: The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse"
  • SILVER BATON WTCN-TV, Minneapolis, Minnesota, "Herpes is Forever"

1985

  • SILVER BATON ABC News, "Nightline"
  • SILVER BATON ABC News, "World News Tonight: US-USSR: A Balance of Powers"
  • SILVER BATON Brian Ross and Ira Silverman, Outstanding investigative reporting on NBC News
  • SILVER BATON CBS News, "60 Minutes: Lenell Geter's in Jail"
  • SILVER BATON KOSU Radio, Stillwater, Oklahoma, "Selling the Public Spectrum"
  • SILVER BATON KRON-TV, San Francisco, California, "Climate of Death"
  • SPECIAL INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION AWARD: Medvideo, Ltd. and Group W, "Whispering Hope: Unmasking the Mystery of Alzheimer's"
  • Special Independent Production Award: Quest Productions and PBS, "The First Fifty Years: Reflections on US-Soviet Relations"
  • SILVER BATON Suburban Cablevision, Avenel, New Jersey, "Right to Know: Hillside: A Desegregation Story"
  • SILVER BATON The Documentary Consortium and PBS "Frontline: Mind of a Murderer"
  • SILVER BATON WGBH-TV and PBS, Boston, Massachusetts, "Vietnam: A Television History"
  • SILVER BATON WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Florida, "The Smell of Money"
  • SILVER BATON WJZ-TV, Baltimore, Maryland, "Baby Boom: The Pig in the Python"

1986

  • GOLD BATON ABC News, "Nightline: South Africa"
  • SILVER BATON Cable News Network and IMAGO, Ltd., "Iran: In the Name of God"
  • SILVER BATON CBS News, "CBS Evening News: Afghanistan: Operation Blackout" (with footage from Mike Hoover)
  • SILVER BATON Chris-Craft Television Productions and Churchill Films, "Down for the Count--an Inside Look at Boxing" (aired on Frontline)
  • SILVER BATON Desert West News, Flagstaff, Arizona, For a series of radio reports on the American Sanctuary Movement
  • SILVER BATON KNX Radio, Los Angeles, California, "Assignment 84/85"
  • SILVER BATON Nancy Montoya and KGUN-TV, Tucson, Arizona, For outstanding reporting
  • SILVER BATON NBC News, "The Real 'Star Wars'--Defense in Space"
  • SILVER BATON WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Coverage of the MOVE siege
  • SILVER BATON WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, Minnesota, "The Moore Report"
  • SILVER BATON WDVM-TV, Washington, DC, Investigation of Dr. Milan Vuitch
  • SILVER BATON WNET-TV, New York, New York, and PBS, "The Brain"

1987

  • GOLD BATON CBS News, "CBS Reports: The Vanishing Family--Crisis in Black America", presented by Bill Moyers[10]
  • SILVER BATON ABC News with Ted Koppel, "45/85"
  • SILVER BATON Chedd-Angier Production Company and The Documentary Consortium, "Frontline: Sue the Doctor? on PBS
  • SILVER BATON Drew Associates and PBS, "For Auction: An American Hero"
  • SILVER BATON KING-TV, Seattle, Washington, "Washington 2000"
  • SILVER BATON KTUL-TV, Tulsa, Oklahoma, "Tulsa's Golden Missionary"
  • SILVER BATON KYTV-TV, Springfield, Missouri, For outstanding reporting by Erin Hayes
  • SILVER BATON NBC News, Investigative Reporting on NBC Nightly News, citing the work of Brian Ross and Mark Nykanen
  • SILVER BATON NBC Radio News, For coverage of the American raid on Tripoli
  • SILVER BATON WBZ-TV, Boston, Massachusetts, "Afghanistan: The Untold Story"
  • SILVER BATON WCBS-TV, New York, New York, "No Place to Call Home"
  • SILVER BATON WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, Minnesota, "State of Texas vs. Steven Lynn Fossum"
  • SILVER BATON WMAQ-TV, Chicago, Illinois, "Cicero: Community of Controversy"

1988

  • GOLD BATON Blackside, Inc., Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965
  • SILVER BATON ABC News, "20/20: By His Father's Hand: The Zumwalkts"
  • SILVER BATON CBS News, "48 Hours on Crack Street"
  • SILVER BATON Florentine Films, "Huey Long"
  • SILVER BATON KMOV-TV, St. Louis, Missouri, "Sauget: City of Shame"
  • SILVER BATON NBC News, Robert Bazell, For Coverage of the AIDS epidemic
  • SILVER BATON Pam Zekman and WBBM-TV, Chicago, Illinois, For Investigative Reporting
  • SILVER BATON Roberta Baskin and WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C. For Investigative Reporting
  • SILVER BATON WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, Minnesota, For the I-Team
  • SILVER BATON WFAA-TV, Dallas, Texas, SMU Investigation
  • SILVER BATON WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, "Jacksonville's Roads: The Deadly Drive Home"
  • SILVER BATON WLAP Radio, Lexington, Kentucky, "Passing On the Secret of Sexual Abuse"
  • SILVER BATON WPLG-TV, Miami, Florida, "Florida: State of Neglect"

1989

1990

  • GOLD BATON WGBH and Frontline: "Remember My Lai," "The Spy Who Broke the Code," "Who Profits From Drugs?," "The Choice," and "Children of the Night"
  • SILVER BATON ABC News and Koppel Communications, "The Koppel Report: Tragedy at Tiananmen--The Untold Story"
  • SILVER BATON Byron Harris and WFAA-TV, Dallas, Texas, "Other People's Money"
  • SILVER BATON CBS, Television and Radio Coverage of China
  • SILVER BATON CNN, Coverage of China
  • SILVER BATON Gardner Films and WETA, Washington, D.C., "Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land" on PBS
  • SILVER BATON KCET-TV, Los Angeles, California, "For the Sake of Appearances," and "Expecting Miracles"
  • SILVER BATON Kentucky Educational Television, "On Our Own Land" (produced by Anne Lewis) with Appalshop
  • SILVER BATON Maryland Public Television, Owings Mills, Maryland, "Other Faces of AIDS"
  • SILVER BATON National Public Radio, "AIDS and Black America: Breaking the Silence"
  • SILVER BATON WBRZ, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, "The Best Insurance Commissioner Money Can Buy"
  • SILVER BATON WJXT, Jacksonville, Florida, "Crack Crisis: A Cry for Action"

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

  • GOLD BATON Brian Lapping Associates, "Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation" on The Discovery Channel and the BBC
  • SILVER BATON ABC News, "Nightline: The State vs. Simpson: The Verdict," "Nightline: Journey of a Country Doctor," "Nightline: Town Meeting: Thou Shall Not Kill"
  • SILVER BATON CBS News, "60 Minutes: Punishing Saddam" (reported by Lesley Stahl), "60 Minutes: Too Good to be True" (reported by Morley Safer)
  • SILVER BATON HBO, "America Undercover: High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell," and "The Celluloid Closet"
  • SILVER BATON KREM-TV, Spokane, Washington, "The Wenatchee Child Sex Ring"
  • SILVER BATON NBC News, "Dateline: Class Photo" (Neal Shapiro, John Block, Len Cannon, Geraldine Moriba-Meadows, Marc Rosenwasser)
  • SILVER BATON Norman Corwin and Mary Beth Kirchner for "Fifty Years After 14 August" on NPR
  • SILVER BATON NOVA/WGBH-TV, "NOVA: Plague Fighters" (directed by Ric Esther Bienstock) on PBS
  • SILVER BATON NPR and Anne Garrels for coverage of the former Soviet Union
  • SILVER BATON Public Broadcasting Service, "Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud" (aired on American Masters)
  • SILVER BATON Radio Smithsonian for "Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was" on PRI
  • SILVER BATON WFAA-TV, Dallas, Texas, For investigate reporting by Robert Riggs
  • SILVER BATON WGBH, Frontline, "Shtetl" on PBS

1998

1999

  • Gold Baton: WGBH-TV, Boston, "NOVA: Everest: The Death Zone"; "The Brain Eater"; "Supersonic Spies"; "China's Mysterious Mummies"; "Coma"
  • ABC News and Ted Koppel, "Nightline: Crime and Punishment"
  • CBS News and Mike Wallace, "60 Minutes: Investigation of the International Pharmaceutical Industry"
  • CBS News, Eric Engberg and Vince Gonzales, "CBS Evening News: Tomb of the Unknowns"
  • Dan Collison, Rebecca Perl and Tom Jennings, "This American Life: Scenes from a Transplant" on PRI
  • Independent Television Service, Tony Buba and Raymond Henderson, "Struggles in Steel: A Story of African American Steelworkers"
  • PBS, Laura Angelica Simón and Tracey Trench, "POV: Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary"
  • Thirteen/WNET, New York, and Vanessa Roth, "Taken In: The Lives of America's Foster Children"
  • WBBM-TV, Chicago, and Carol Marin, "Coverage of Congressman William Lipinski Campaign"
  • WEWS-TV, Cleveland, and Bill Shiel, "Final Mission"
  • WMAQ-TV, Chicago, "Strip Searched at O'Hare"
  • WRAL-TV, Raleigh, and Stuart Watson for a series of investigate reports on military medicine

2000

2001

2002

2003

  • Gold Baton: WGBH-TV, Boston, "Frontline," for a series of seven programs on PBS ("Hunting bin Laden,"; "Target America,"; "Looking for Answers,"; "Trail of a Terrorist,"; "Gunning for Saddam,"; "Saudi Time Bomb,"; "Inside the Terror Network,") about the origin and impact of terrorism by Islamic militants
  • ABC News Television and Radio for coverage of 9/11 (citing the work of Ann Compton and John Miller) and "Answering Children's Questions" (citing the work of Peter Jennings)
  • ABC News, "Nightline: Heart of Darkness" (Martin Seemungal, correspondent)
  • CNN en Español and Jorge Gestoso, "La Doble Desaparecida"
  • Court TV and Lumiere Productions, "Ghosts of Attica"
  • HBO, "In Memorium: New York City, 9/11/01"
  • KPBS-TV, San Diego, and Lee Harvey, "Culture of Hate: Who are We?"
  • NBC News and Martin Fletcher, for coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  • NPR, for coverage of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan
  • POV, Tasha Oldman and Small Town Productions, "The Smith Family" on PBS
  • WBUR-FM, Boston, "Surviving Torture: Inside Out" (Michael Goldfarb, correspondent)
  • WCVB-TV, Boston, "Chronicle: Beyond the Big Dig"
  • WFAA-TV, Dallas, Brett Ship and Mark Smith, "Fake Drugs, Real Lives"
  • WGBH-TV, Boston, Steeplechase Films and Sierra Club Productions, "American Experience: Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" on PBS

2004

2005

The duPont Jury also announced four finalists for their exemplary broadcast journalism:

2006

2007

2008

The thirteen awards for 2008 were announced on December 17, 2007, and presented on January 16, 2008.[17]

2009

Television: Golden Baton Winner

  • WFAA-TV in Dallas for "Money for Nothing", "A Passing Offense", "The Buried and the Dead" (Byron Harris, Brett Shipp, reporters)

Television & Radio, Silver Baton Winners

2010

Television, Radio, and Web: Silver Baton Winners

2011

Television, Radio, and Digital: Silver Baton Winners

2012

2013

Source:[18]

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Source:[19]

2023

Source:[20]

  • CBS News, 60 Minutes: National Security in the Information Age ( "SolarWinds," "Deepfakes," "The Grid," "Shields Up"; Bill Whitaker, correspondent)
  • PBS, GBH, NOVA, Arctic Sinkholes
  • This American Life, Talking While Black (Emanuele Berry host; Berry and Chana Joffe-Walt, reporters)
  • PBS NewsHour & Jane Ferguson, Coverage of the Fall of Afghanistan and the War in Ukraine (Ferguson, Nick Schifrin, Simon Ostrovsky, Ryan Chilcote, Willem Marx, Jack Hewson, and Malcolm Brabant, correspondents)
  • Audible, Finding Tamika (Erika Alexander, host)
  • KARE 11 Minneapolis/St. Paul & A.J. Lagoe, KARE 11 Investigates - The GAP: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect
  • Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO, The Janes
  • WXIA-TV Atlanta & Rebecca Lindstrom, #Keeping
  • ABC News Studios | Hulu, Leave No Trace: A Hidden History of The Boy Scouts
  • WBRZ-TV Baton Rouge & Chris Nakamoto, MURDER - LIES - HIDDEN EVIDENCE: Holding Louisiana State Police accountable
  • CNN Films & HBO Max, Navalny
  • WTVF-TV Nashville & Phil Williams, NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Revealed
  • KXAS-TV NBC Dallas/Ft. Worth & Scott Friedman, Paper Tag Nation
  • The Washington Post: Post Reports, A Post-Roe America: Continuing Coverage of Abortion
  • Gimlet Media | Spotify, Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's
  • CNN Worldwide, Ukraine Coverage

2024

Sources:[21][22]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Nemours Papers: Series 3 of the duPont family papers, Special Collections, Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library. Box-folder 26:44 R5 Alfred I. duPont Radio Awards
  2. ^ "Columbia University Announces 2007 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Broadcast News Award Winners". Columbia News (Press release). Columbia University. June 5, 2007 [January 13, 2007]. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. ^ All duPont–Columbia Award Winners Archived August 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Columbia Journalism School. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  4. ^ a b c "Taylor, WLS, KLZ cop du Pont awards". Variety. March 16, 1949. p. 25. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Pauline Frederick Papers, 1917–1990, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  6. ^ O'Connor, John J. (1977-06-14). "TV: NBC Looks at Human Rights (Published 1977)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  7. ^ Buckley, Tom (1978-08-03). "TV: 'Arson: Fire for Hire' (Published 1978)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  8. ^ "Television (Published 1979)". The New York Times. 1979-01-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  9. ^ "LEANER TIMES FOR DOCUMENTARIANS (Published 1984)". The New York Times. 1984-06-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  10. ^ Belkin, Lisa (1987-02-05). "MOYERS WINS A TOP PRIZE IN BROADCAST JOURNALISM (Published 1987)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  11. ^ "Columbia University School of Journalism Honors NPR". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  12. ^ "Fred Friendly Honored In Broadcasting Awards (Published 1994)". The New York Times. 1994-01-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  13. ^ a b "Daniel Schorr Wins Gold Baton at 54th duPont-Columbia Awards". Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  14. ^ "CBS News. Richard Schlesinger. Correspondent, 48 Hours Mystery". CBS News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  15. ^ "CRY FREETOWN" (Interview). PBS NewsHour. 25 January 2001. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  16. ^ "Past duPont Award Winners - the Journalism School Columbia University". Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  17. ^ Columbia News: December 17, 2007-
  18. ^ "2013 WINNERS: 14 SILVER BATONS". Columbia Journalism School. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  19. ^ Winners of 2022 duPont-Columbia journalism award announced|AP News
  20. ^ Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards: PBS and CNN Lead With Two Wins Each - The Hollywood Reporter
  21. ^ PBS, ABC News Win Multiple Honors at duPont-Columbia Awards - Variety
  22. ^ PBS And ABC News Lead The Honors At The 2024 DuPont Awards - Deadline

External links

  • Official site
  • Award Winners Archive
  • "Telling the Truth—The Best in Broadcast Journalism", PBS, Maria Hinojosa. Documentary on the 2010 Dupont award winners.