duPont 2021 Winners and Finalists Covering COVID
Three of the 2021 duPont Columbia Award honorees were recognized for their work covering the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus was one of the biggest stories of 2020. News organizations around the world struggled to cover a once-in-a-century crisis while facing increasing financial pressures.
The pieces honored by the duPont Jury illuminated different aspects of the pandemic, but all of them displayed the same commitment to public service journalism and courage in the face of adversity.
NOVA: Decoding COVID-19 - 2021 duPont-Columbia Award Winner
The long-running PBS science program NOVA won a 2021 silver baton for what Dr. Anthony Fauci referred as a “masterful hour” when he presented the award at a virtual ceremony earlier this year. Producer Sarah Holt and her team reported the piece in just seven weeks during the early days of the pandemic. The program, which aired in May of 2020, explained the science behind COVID clearly with exceptional graphics while also including personal stories from Queens and Wuhan that reveal the human impact of coronavirus.
WNBC, New York: The Epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic - 2021 duPont-Columbia Award Winner
When New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, the team at WNBC rose to the challenge by providing comprehensive coverage of the rapidly changing story. As the virus raged, WNBC reporters and producers brought viewers life and death information in real time. Their coverage created a 360 degree view of the pandemic in New York through breaking news stories, pieces about the economic impact of the virus, and memorial segments about those who died from COVID. Reporter Melissa Russo also filed some of the earliest reports on COVID related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
CBS News: Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line - 2021 duPont-Columbia Award Finalist
Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx allowed CBS News total access at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City. The resulting hour-long special highlighted the extraordinary care that doctors, nurses, EMT’s and other front line health care workers were providing during the first spike in COVID cases. The special presentation also went beyond the hospital walls to visit with the families of COVID patients.