The Edward R. Murrow awards are presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association in recognition of what the Association terms "outstanding achievements in electronic journalism."

Awards and categories

Awards given out include the following types:

• "Overall Excellence," for the best journalism
• "Newscast," honoring single whole newscasts
• "Spot News Coverage," for immediate coverage of breaking stories
• "Continuing Coverage," recognizing long-term coverage of developing major stories
• "Investigative Reporting"
• "Feature Reporting"
• "Hard News"
• "Sports Reporting"
• "News Series"
• "News Documentary"

There are also technical awards for a handful of disciplines:

• "Videography"
• "Use of Sound"
• "Writing"

The awards are further subdivided into seperate competitions for TV networks, large and small TV markets, radio networks, and large and small radio markets. Thus, there are a total of six "Excellence" awards in a given year, six "Newscast" awards, and so on.

Judging

Submissions are judged by a panel of professional journalists. Entries from individual stations are judged regionally. The finalists from each region are given an ERM Regional Award, and the opportunity to compete in the national awards. It is possible for the judges to decide that none of the entries in a given category merit an award, in which case none will be offered.

Past winners

Some of the more notable winners of the Edward R. Murrow award include Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Keith Olbermann, and Bryant Gumbel. Full lists of winners and organizations can be found on the RTNDA website. Dan Rather, from a telecast in October 2004. ... Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (born February 6, 1940) is a television journalist and the former NBC News anchorman and managing editor of the program NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. ... Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM (July 29, 1938 – August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-American lead news anchor for the ABC network from the 1980s to the 2000s. ... Ted Koppel on Nightline in 1995. ... Keith Olbermann Keith Olbermann (born January 27, 1959 in New York City) is an American news anchor and radio sportscaster. ... Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948 in New Orleans, Louisiana), is an American television personality for news and sports programs. ...