PBS Leads in News Emmy Nods
But Fox decides it won't play and doesn't submit entries
By Dan Trigoboff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/21/2003
Nominations are in for the 24th annual news and documentaries Emmy Awards with PBS leading among TV networks with 31, followed by CBS (19), ABC and NBC (18 each), MSNBC (13) and CNN (six).
Also receiving nominations: Discovery Channel (five), The History Channel (four), and Cinemax, HBO and TLC (three each).
"We received nearly 1,500 entries, one of the largest numbers ever," said Bill Small, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences vice chairman for News and Documentaries. "The number and range of entries demonstrate that quality journalism is alive and well on U.S. television."
Tired of regularly being passed over for nominations, Fox News Channel preempted that possibility and did not submit any entries. But Fox-owned WNYW(TV) was nominated for a 9/11 special that ran on the Fox network.
In individual programs, MSNBC's National Geographic Explorer garnered the most nods (12) for the third year in a row. NBC's Dateline received 11, while ABC's Nightline, CBS's Evening News With Dan Rather and 60 Minutes II will be up for six awards each. (Among the CBS Evening News' half dozen nominations, four were for investigative reporting within a regularly scheduled newscast.) And PBS's Nova was nominated for four awards.
At the Sept. 3 awards dinner in New York, 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt, executive editor Phil Scheffler and current and past correspondents—including the late Harry Reasoner—will receive a lifetime achievement award. Retiring Associated Press CEO Lou Boccardi will also be honored.
