Best TV, video or documentary about international affairs one hour or longer
AWARD DATE: 2016
AWARD NAME: 09 The Peter Jennings Award
AWARD RECIPIENT: The Real Sports Team
AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
AWARD HONORED WORK: “The Lords of the Rings”
AWARD SPONSOR: Jennings Family
HBO’s documentary, the first recipient in this new OPC category, exemplified the core values of Peter Jennings’ reporting: commitment to covering international stories, unflinching dedication to the craft of journalism, consistent inquiry to uncover all aspects of a story, and the courage to follow the story no matter the consequences. “The Lord of the Rings” was an ambitious, unique and riveting expose that explained the painful human and environmental cost of the Olympic Games and the unethical practices of its organizing body, the International Olympics Committee, the wealthiest sports organization in the world. Reported over two years from nine countries with four correspondents, the 75-minute long program aired on the eve of the 2016 Rio Games and revealed that the IOC pursues wealth, privilege and glory for its members at a staggering cost to people around the world. This complex and disturbing story shed new light on the IOC and uncovered graft and corruption at a great cost to human rights and dignity at the Olympic Games.
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