Scripps News wins first national News Emmy Award

Press Releases

Sep 28, 2023

ATLANTA, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Scripps News, the nation’s only 24/7 broadcast news network available over the air, has won its first national News Emmy Award with its documentary news series, “In Real Life.”

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the honors Wednesday evening during the news ceremony of the 44th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Scripps News won in the outstanding science, technology or environmental coverage category for “In Real Life: Plastic Time Bomb.” Other nominees in this category included CNN, National Geographic and Vice.

The winning 2022 episode of “In Real Life” presented a global exploration of the impact of microplastics on the planet and on our health – and what scientists are doing to help fix the problem. The reporting team traveled to Malaysia to show the impact of the world’s un-recycled waste and explored gaps in the global recycling system – all while interviewing local residents and non-profit leaders and scientists from around the globe to bring viewers a closer look at our relationship to one of the world’s most common materials.

A second episode from the 2022 “In Real Life” season – “The New Death” – was also nominated this year in the outstanding soft feature story: long form category.

“This award, and our second nomination, are fantastic recognitions of Scripps News’ commitment to going beyond the headlines to bring viewers deeper, context-driven reporting,” said Scripps News President Kate O’Brian. “With each visually stunning episode, the ‘In Real Life’ team takes viewers to the heart of important, but sometimes overlooked, stories playing out across the world and their impact on our communities – locally and globally. ‘Plastic Time Bomb’ did exactly that, sharing perspectives from multiple corners of the globe and bringing viewers a nuanced look at an issue that is often polarizing.”

The winning Scripps News team included Nelufar Hedayat, correspondent; Kevin Clancy, producer, editor and director of photography; Grier Dill, animator; and Zach Toombs, executive producer. Viewers can watch the winning episode on Scripps News again this Sunday during a special replay at 8 p.m. ET.

This is the third time this year the “In Real Life” series has been honored for its reporting – it has won a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media as well as an award for outstanding TV journalism from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Scripps News also won three National Headliner Awards earlier this year for its investigations and impact journalism.

Scripps News will debut the fifth season of “In Real Life” at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 8 by taking viewers onto a flying laboratory operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is helping the U.S. government to test controversial solutions to cooling down the planet’s rising temperatures. The upcoming season will see correspondents diving into all new stories each week, including artificial intelligence and the dating scene, genetic rescue of animals on the brink of extinction, the growth of deep sea mining and the rise of citizen militias along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards honored programming content from more than 2,300 submissions that originally premiered in calendar-year 2022, judged by a pool of over 1,000 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media news and documentary industry.

Media contact: Becca McCarter, (513) 410-2425, rebecca.mccarter@scripps.com

About Scripps News
Scripps News (@ScrippsNews) is the nation’s only free 24/7 broadcast news network, serving viewers opinion-free national news from 16 news bureaus across the U.S. and Scripps’ Local Media national desk. Scripps News is available in more than 94% of U.S. television homes free and over the air with a digital antenna, on mobile with the Scripps News app and online at ScrippsNews.com. It is also carried on streaming platforms and services, including Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Pluto TV, Apple TV, Sling, Vizio and Xumo. Scripps News is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).