Following up on this morning’s Peabody post, here is NBC’s press release about the network’s win.
NBC Nightly News received a 2005 Peabody award for “After the Storm: The Long Road Back.” Brian Williams says “this is an enormous honor, and a huge recognition of the coverage of a news story that has become a major commitment of this News Division.”
“Every member of this news division can take pride in this award… as this was a division-wide effort to cover, comprehend and analyze the significance of everything that fell under the ‘Katrina’ umbrella,” Steve Capus said in an internal memo. Read the full message after the jump…
This is a proud day for NBC News. The George Foster Peabody Awards were announced this morning and NBC Nightly News was honored for its coverage of hurricane Katrina. The awards committee specifically cited Brian Williams’ outstanding first-hand reporting before, during and after the storm. As you all know, this is an on-going saga that has revealed so many monumental stories: from the extraordinary toll of the storm… to race relations… to infrastructure decay… to governmental failures… to extraordinary human compassion. Brian and many, many teams from NBC News have brilliantly documented every aspect of these continuing stories.
This is the way the awards committee described the NBC Nightly News coverage:
“NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: After the Storm: The Long Road Back: NBC’s stated goal was to cover the aftermath of Katrina “with as many resources and as much time and intensity” as it had devoted to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This commitment on the part of a broadcast network resulted in extraordinary coverage and analysis.”
Every member of this news division can take pride in this award… as this was a division-wide effort to cover, comprehend and analyze the significance of everything that fell under the “Katrina” umbrella. Take a moment to reflect on your hard work – and at the same time, remember those who were lost and suffered as a result of this terrible disaster. The story is not over and neither is our coverage. The NBC News New Orleans bureau – the netdesk – the broadcasts of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC continue to show their dedication to outstanding coverage every single day. And on THIS day, the work of NBC Nightly News, in particular, has been honored. Indeed – it’s a tribute to Brian and everyone at the great news division.
Congratulations one and all.
-Steve