Announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

Winners to be announced on September 21st at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
Barbara Walters to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honors
CNN Documentary Unit to Receive President’s Award
New York, N.Y. – Nominations for the 30th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards were announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).  The News & Documentary Emmy Awards will be presented on Monday, September 21 at a ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City. The event will be attended by more than 1000 television and new media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Emmy Awards will be presented in 33 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.  

This year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree is Barbara Walters, one of the most acclaimed correspondents in the history of television news, and creator and co-host of ABC’s The View.  Ms. Walters’ distinguished and groundbreaking career includes over 30 years at ABC News and 15 years on NBC’s Today Show. At ABC she became the first woman to co-host the network news, and served as the longtime co-host and chief correspondent of 20/20. Ms. Walters has interviewed every American President and First Lady since Richard Nixon. She has also hosted numerous primetime specials, including the top-rated Barbara Walters Specials.

CNN Productions—the documentary unit of CNN—will receive the President’s Award for the network’s longstanding commitment to long form documentaries. Since its inception in 1998 the award –winning documentary unit has compiled an outstanding body of work. It has particularly distinguished itself in recent years with important documentaries on genocide, religious extremism, the struggle for peace in Northern Ireland, and many other pressing topics.

The numerical breakdown, by media entities, as compiled by the independent accountancy firm of Lutz and Carr, LLP, follows:

Over-the-Air, Cable, Satellite and Internet Broadcast Nominees
PBS    41        Tate.org    2
CBS    23        Washingtonpost.com    2
ABC     13        Current TV    1
HBO/Cinemax    13        Discovery Health    1
National Geographic    12        freep.com/Detroit Free Press    1

NBC    10        Globeandmail.com    1
CNN    8        History Channel    1
Discovery Channel    4        livehopelove.com / Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting    1
BBC America    3        Mediastorm.org    1
Travel Channel    3        Reuters.com / Mediastorm.org    1
MSNBC    2        Smithsonian Channel    1
Nytimes.com    2           

Regional Nominees
KGW-TV (Portland, OR)    1        WNBC-TV (New York, NY)    1
KHOU-TV (Houston, TX)       1        WTVT-TV (Tampa Bay, FL)    1
KSTP-TV (Minneapolis, MN)    1        WWOR-TV (Secaucus, NJ)    1
KYW-TV (Philadelphia, PA)    1           

 The 30th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards honors programming distributed during the calendar year 2008.

The list of nominees for the 30th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards is also available on the National Television Academy's website: www.emmyonline.tv

About The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
 
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Award for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime Entertainment, Daytime Creative Arts & Entertainment, Public & Community Service, Technology & Engineering, and Business & Financial Reporting.  Regional Emmy Awards are given in 19 regions across the United States. NATAS also presents the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Global Media Awards which recognizes excellence in the world-wide intersection of digital entertainment and technology. Excellence in Primetime programming and international programming is recognized by its affiliate, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Beyond awards, NATAS has extensive educational programs including National Student Television and its Student Award for Excellence for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public.  For more information, please visit the website at www.emmyonline.tv