1983 Citations

Assignment '81, KNX, Los Angeles, CA

Among the few remaining regularly scheduled documentary series on local radio, these half-hour reports broadcast in prime "drive time" combined subjects of consequence with sensistive human-scale reporting. Among the topics of local and national concern were the decline of the nursing profession, the housing crisis, immigration reform and civil defense.

The Vietnam Era, KQDS, Duluth, MN

Memories of the only war the nation has fought and lost recollected in tranquility and brought up to date. Getting the local participants, both those who fought the war and fought against it, to recapture and express their feelings was a remarkable and valuable exercise in reconciliation.

Oregon Hurricane, KWIP, Dallas, OR

On the evening of Friday, November 13, 1981, the worst storm in nearly a quarter of a century struck the northwestern United States. KWIP, on the air barely nine months, and with a license permitting it to broadcast daily from 6 a.m. to sunset, went back on the air to warn and inform the residents of Oregon, northern California, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. With one full-time newsperson, it mobilized its staff of fewer than 10 and provided the only continuous coverage of the emergency.

In Retrospect ... Abortion, WHRO, Norfolk, VA

Shrillness has been the usual mode for spokespeople on both sides of the emotion-packed subject of abortion. WHRO in a brief 46 minutes managed to break the subject down to its human components, presenting a series of probing yet tactful interviews with women who looked back -- some with regret, others with relief -- on an experience which still remains one of the principal unresolved human and political dilemmas of the decade.

The Bronco Billy Witness, WJBC, Bloomington, IL

A disk jockey alerts the local authorities of the imminent torching of a night club, which despite his warning is allowed to take place. The story that results, simply and straightforwardly reported, illuminated a major national concern -- why usually lawabiding citizens don't want to become involved in the criminal justice system.

Why Me? & The Front Line, KDIN-TV, Des Moines, IA

The versatility and breadth of interest of one small market operation was clearly demonstrated in these two documentaries: one on the fears, second thoughts and angry confusion which the victims experience following violent crimes; the other on the continuing battle between the nation's farmers and its energy producers who would give preference to the needs of city dwellers and industry.

Year of the Eagle & Cheating Death, WHA-TV, Madison, WI and the Wisconsin Educational Television Network

Visual beauty and sophistication of approach as well as optimism characterized these two documentaries, which took this midwestern station's staff to both coasts in search of its wide-ranging stories: first, the current status of the bald eagle, the nation's symol, which may be winning the battle against extinction from guns and chemicals; second, the search for an "antidote to death," which could lead to the extension of human life.

Nuclear Waste: The Gulf Coast Time Bomb, WLOX-TV Biloxi, MS

Big news came to this market of fewer than 100,000 homes when the federal government announced the possibility of locating a nuclear waste repository in southern Mississippi. WLOX's response was prompt and thorough, giving the national background of a highly controversial subject and exploring local opinion and possible impact.

I-Team, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, MN

For the sixth time the news staff of this outstanding station has won the admiration of the duPont-Columbia jurors; in this instance, the work of its newly established I-Team was selected for special praise. Among the stories they handled with distinction were a series on a TV pitchman who sold thousands of dollars worth of unnecessary services to Minnesota home owners, and another on the strange activities of a small town's benefactor who turned out to be a big-time crook.

News Coverage and Investigative Reporting, WTVF-TV, Nashville, TN

Throughout the year, WTVF-TV demonstrated its consistent intention to serve its community, whether it was by doing a multipart series on the relationshp between blacks and whites, or by informing parents and commuters of how to cope with the unfamiliar problems presented by a freak snow storm. Among the long list of topics carefully and expertly examined were prison overcrowding, television's influence on children, drunk drivers, integration in the school system, hunger, the police and guns, and teacher burnout.

The Splice of Life, KQED-TV, San Francisco, CA

Genetic engineering and its implications -- good and bad -- for everything from agriculture and human health to the stock market was the lead story on the scientific front for the year. KQED, a leading public broadcasting station, brought to it the intelligence, authority and thoroughness it deserved.

No Place Like Home, WNET/THIRTEEN, NY

The nation's elderly population continues to grow, with very few long-range plans being made for the turn of the century, when every fifth person will be over 60. This hour-long documentary, presided over by the 81-year-old Helen Hayes, explored the problem and possible solutions with an admirable lack of the sentimentality and guilt that usually surround this subject.

Closeup: The Oil Game, ABC-TV

It took ABC economics editor Dan Cordtz and the Closeup team a year to sort out the tangle of big oil, big money, politics and attempted regulation, which according to Congressman Albert Gore resulted in "the largest fraud in monetary terms that has ever been committed on the American public." A difficult and controversial subject, ably handed.

ABC Special: FDR, ABC-TV

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, ABC mobilized the majority of its news staff and devoted its entire prime-time schedule to a superbly researched and edited profile of one of the most fascinating men in United States history.

60 Minutes: What About the U.N.?, CBS-TV

A particularly excruciating example of bureaucratic ineptitude in facing human suffering was vividly caught in this segment of television's premier magazine show. Ed Bradley reported succinctly and devastatingly on the avoidable tragedy that resulted from the U.N. bungling when famine struck Uganda in the spring of 1980.

The Crisco Kid, Jeanne Wolf and South Carolina Educational Television

A brave attempt to present the excruciating lot of a 10-year-old boy doomed to disfigurement, pain and ultimate death by a rare skin disorder. The half-hour managed to convey how such an affliction affects those suffering from it and those in close association with the victims.

Middletown, Peter Davis and WQED-TV, Pittsburgh, PA

Six years in the making, this six-hour series added up to the human document of the year -- an original, penetrating and sympathetic look at just how middle America deals with religion, sports, marriage, making a living, and politics. A major achievement.

Media Probes: Political Spots, Kit Laybourne, Michael Lemle, and WQED-TV, Pittsburgh, PA

This program on political spots approached its subject with wit and literacy. At the same time, it managed to make the telling social point that American voters are being expertly manipulated by a highly intelligent and cynical fraternity of ad men.

Soldier Girls, Joan Churchill, Nicholas Broomfield and PBS

Boot camp, 12-mile hikes, sadistic sergeants, the subversion of the weak and sensitive: we know it well, only this time the victims of military brutality are women. The result is a stunning and revealing dissection of the military mentality from yet another angle.