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There were twelve different stories on the three network nightly newscasts to be nominated for the news-&-documentary Emmy Awards. Some--like those by Byron Pitts, Armen Keteyian and Katie Couric on CBS--were obvious standouts at the time they aired. Others, to be frank, I found underwhelming. Anyway I thought it would be interesting to check back on how each nominee seemed at the time so I have linked to my contemporaneous blog posts, written before anyone knew the coverage might be deserving of acclaim. As usual, the links to the nominated videostreams are included in each blog post.
December 2007-February 2008: Campaign 2008 Primary Questions (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here)--CBS anchor Katie Couric's candidate questioning innovation set the tone for a new style of political coverage--Reality Gameshow Journalism.
January 2008: Nazi Holocaust Remembered at the Shoah Museum (here)--NBC's Ann Curry is becoming her network's human rights specialist.
February 2008: Military Medical Malpractice and the Feres Doctrine (here and here)--CBS' Byron Pitts looks like an award winner, generating genuine outrage not grandstanding.
March 2008: Iraq Combat Fifth Anniversary of Invasion (here, here, here, here, here and here)--ABC News' institutional investment and tenacity was more remarkable than the individual stories filed by Terry McCarthy, Martha Raddatz, Bob Woodruff and Chris Bury.
April 2008: Military Mental Healthcare Shortfall at Veterans Administration (here, here, here, here, here and here)--CBS' Armen Keteyian followed the investigative journalism playbook, collecting the data, finding the gotcha e-mail, inspiring a Congressional reaction.
May 2008: Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (here, here, here and here)--ABC's Jim Sciutto and Elizabeth Vargas demonstrate admirable persistence with Sciutto deserving extra credit for undercover work.
May 2008: Sichuan Province earthquake in China (here, here, here, here, here, here and here)--granted ABC's Neal Karlinsky and Stephanie Sy documented heartbreaking images, but they did so no more insightfully than their rivals at other networks.
June 2008: NBC News' DC Bureau Chief Tim Russert dies (here, here, here and here)--NBC's Pete Williams and Tom Brokaw produced heartfelt tributes but they hardly had to put in a special effort to win access to their material.
September 2008: Campaign 2008 GOP VP Nominee Sarah Palin (here and here)--ABC anchor Charles Gibson famously peered over his glasses in a schoolmasterly way yet his longtime morning rival Katie Couric in the end made a bigger splash.
September 2008: TARP Financial Bailout Bill Defeated in House (here, here and here)--throughout the financial crisis, NBC Nightly News provided superior coverage because it was able to rely on CNBC's resources. Here Tom Costello and Kevin Tibbles were supported by CNBC's economist Steve Liesman and Money Honey Maria Bartiromo.
October 2008: Afghanistan Fighting in Korengal Valley (here and here)--NBC's Richard Engel wins kudos for his up close and personal combat videotape. Unfortunately Tyndall Report had a couple of days off on October 20th and 21st when his series started. Sorry about that.
December 2008: Military Orphans (here)--ABC's Bob Woodruff files an old-fashioned tearjerker for the Yuletide holiday, newsgathering that was flawed only because his source was a fellow professional journalist rather than a genuinely disinterested war widow.
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