The Peter Jennings Award 2021

Clockwise from upper left: Jane Ferguson, Sara Just and Morgan Till

Best TV, video or documentary about international affairs with a run time over 30 minutes/em>

AWARD DATE: 2021<

AWARD NAME: The Peter Jennings Award 2021

AWARD RECIPIENTS: Jane Ferguson, Sara Just, Morgan Till, Emily Kassie and Zach Fannin

AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: PBS NewsHour, with support from the Pulitzer Center

AWARD HONORED WORK: “The Fall of Afghanistan”

AWARD SPONSOR: The Jennings Family

In years to come, students of history will be able to look back at these PBS NewsHour segments from Afghanistan by Jane Ferguson and team to understand what happened in the final year of America’s longest war. Throughout 2021, as most Americans’ attention had turned away, the team returned again and again to capture the final arc of the story — from the futile effort of Afghan government troops to defend their country, to the targeted assassinations of educated elites, to the desperate scramble to depart from Kabul airport, and to the humanitarian crisis once the Taliban took over. Just as important, they relayed these events from the perspective of the Afghan people and the fighters on the ground, not the safe confines of an American TV studio.

Links to the winning work:

In Afghanistan, Biden inherits America’s longest war and Trump’s peace deal
Targeted assassinations against civil society create a climate of fear in Afghanistan
As peace talks with the Taliban stall, deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan looms
Afghan allies ‘begging’ for their lives, face Taliban attacks amid US withdrawal
Afghan militias forced to fight Taliban blame America’s ‘abandonment’
Young, modern Afghans fear ‘losing everything’ as Taliban regains ground
Inside the desperate, dangerous scramble to evacuate Kabul as Taliban seizes control
Taliban leaders promise softer rule, but their actions send a different message
Chaos, cries for help outside Kabul airport as Taliban crack down on protesters
Frustrated by ill-prepared evacuation plan, anxious Afghans rush airport gates
Afghans desperately try to flee; U.S. evacuation continues
Afghan children get left behind, go missing amid chaos at Kabul’s airport
Aid groups struggle to continue humanitarian aid for starving, injured Afghans
Dwindling aid, crumbling economy and ISIS add to Afghans’ hardships under Taliban rule

Citation for Excellence:
Martin Smith, Marcela Gaviria, Brian Funck and Scott Anger
FRONTLINE PBS
“The Jihadist”