Every 90 seconds somewhere in the world a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth; 80% of these deaths are preventable. The program focused on nations with the worst history and how the powerful drive of women is bringing hope and help. The team traveled from Afghanistan to Sierra Leone, Bangladesh and elsewhere, filming the efforts of NGOs and doctors to train volunteers to use cell phones to communicate with doctors during pregnancies and to deliver babies hygienically in primitive homes. It cited how well-known model Christy Turlington, who almost died in childbirth in the U.S., used her fame to make a documentary to raise awareness and money for the medications that saved her life. The judges credit the program additionally for its success in moving viewers to contribute interactively to a number of organizations dedicated to health improvement worldwide.
Award archive category: Television
The David Kaplan Award 2010
In this series of three reports from Afghanistan by NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and his long-time cameraman Bedun Edwards, the toll of war is poignantly illustrated through the eyes of one soldier, Sgt. Louis Loftus, 22, from Akron, Ohio, who spoke with unusual candor about the trauma of battle. The riveting footage of the ferocious surprise attack by the Taliban against the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division coupled with the post-gunfight interview and homecoming of Sgt. Loftus demonstrate Engel’s unique ability to capture the moment and to bring the audience to the battlefield, even if it means putting his own life in danger.
The Edward R. Murrow Award 2010
Powerful and evocative treatments of the two poles of the Middle East — simmering crises that represent unfinished business of these flashpoints of global conflict. In “Unfinished Business,” Lesley Stahl and producer Richard Bonin examine shattered lives that American forces left behind when they withdrew from Iraq, while uncovering the underside of the economic structures that support this would-be nation, including illicit trade in oil products with Iran. In “City of David,” Stahl teams with producer Shachar Bar-On for a microcosmic look at the issues plaguing the Israel-Palestine conflict. Vivid and insightful writing illuminates the profound tensions underlying an architectural dig to uncover a palace that may (or may not) have belonged to King David, but which today lies beneath a sprawling Palestinian neighborhood called Silwan.
The Carl Spielvogel Award 2010
Good Fortune is an insightful look at the everyday life of average people in Kenya, presented against the backdrop of globalization and western notions of progress. It is compelling, breathtaking, moving, and it challenges conventional wisdom about what people in poor countries need from the world outside their own. It allows one woman to be representative of a culture, and treats her eloquent criticism of the failures of international aid in Africa with the kind of respect normally reserved for the suppliers of that aid.
Best Television Interpretation of Foreign Affairs 1966
AWARD DATE: 1966 AWARD NAME: Best Television Interpretation of Foreign Affairs AWARD RECIPIENT: Howard K. Smith AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: ABC News AWARD HONORED WORK: Analytical reports from Vietnam This is Howard K. Smith’s third OPC award for interpreting the news; he has also won four OPC awards for his top reporting from abroad. The judges selected the ABC news commentator for his “analytical reports…
Best TV Reporting From Abroad
AWARD DATE: 1966 AWARD NAME: Best TV Reporting From Abroad AWARD RECIPIENT: Morley Safer AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: CBS News AWARD HONORED WORK: Coverage of Vietnam Morley Safer of CBS News is a repeater. This is his second consecutive award in this category for his lucid, in-depth reports on the fighting in Vietnam. Safer, a 35-year-old Canadian, came to CBS in 1964 after seven…
The David Kaplan Award 2009
In a category with several excellent entries, two stood above the rest this year, and “The Battle of Wanat” by the staff of the CBS Evening News took our top honors in a split decision.
The Edward R. Murrow Award 2009
“Frontline: Obama’s War” flawlessly captures a special moment in the fog of the Afghan War.
The Carl Spielvogel Award 2009
“Heart of Jenin” turns attention from the chaos that often defines the Israel-Palestine conflict to a father who finds a way to turn the death of his son into a way of saving lives.
The David Kaplan Award 2008
In the overwhelming chaos that surrounds a natural disaster, the reporting and resourcefulness of ABC News correspondents Stephanie Sy and Neal Karlinsky had to deal first with the physical obstacles to this breaking news story in a remote region of Sichuan province.