CNN Prez Jeff Zucker must be humming Pharrell Williams “Happy” song right about now.
This just in on all the good, happy news coming out of the network right now. And compared to MSNBC, he just might start dancing around the office.
The big news: Anthony Bourdain has won a Peabody Award for Parts Unknown.
There are other awards to be jubilant about: Chicagoland has received a Silver Hugo award and the network has won 13 National Headliner awards. The Lead‘s Jake Tapper won a bunch in the latter category.
See the memo below.
April 2, 2014
I couldn’t be happier to share with you the news that CNN today was recognized with a Peabody Award for Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Everyone in our business strives for recognition from the Peabody Awards, one of the highest honors in our field. The judging committee said, “Whether Bourdain’s tireless search for new taste experiences takes him to Myanmar or Detroit, he never fails to find great stories to go with the food.” Congratulations to Tony and Zero Point Zero, whose passion and enthusiasm for contemporary storytelling continues to resonate with our audience. Parts Unknown returns to CNN next Sunday, April 13, with the premier of season three.
The critically acclaimed original series Chicagoland has just been honored with a Silver Hugo award from the Chicago International Film Festival Television Awards. Congratulations to the award-winning team of executive producers and filmmakers – Robert Redford, Laura Michalchyshyn, Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin – who have focused their lens on the most American of American cities and its citizens, and shared them so profoundly with CNN.
And, in more good news, CNN has won 13 National Headliner Awards. The diversity of these honors is impressive, as they cross networks, shows and platforms. In coverage of a major news event, The Lead with Jake Tapper took first and second place, with their coverage of the Boston Bombing and the Oklahoma Tornadoes, respectively. For coverage of a major news event, CNN took first place for its coverage of Egypt Unrest, and The Lead with Jake Tapper took third place for its coverage of the Boston Bombing. For sports or human interest, CNN took second place for “International Con Man” from Gary Tuchman, Scott Zamost and Elizabeth Nunez. For a series of reports on the same subject, CNN took second place for “High Speed Rail” from Drew Griffin, Kathleen Johnston and Elizabeth Nunez; and Fareed Zakaria GPS took third place for “India at a Crossroads: A Fareed Zakaria GPS Special.” For investigative reporting, CNN took second place for “Return to Benghazi” from Arwa Damon, Jenni Watts and Christian Streib. For a news magazine program, CNN took first place with “Marriage Warriors: Showdown at the Supreme Court” from Gloria Borger, Courtney Yager and Kevin Bohn. For business and consumer reporting, “Small Business Stories” from Ayesha Tejpar, Don Bowens and Dave Burkhart took third place. For health/science reporting, CNN took second place for “Going Green: Earth” from Philippe Cousteau, Jessica Ellis and Darren Bull; and third place for “Technovations” from Natalie Angley, Jeremy Bradley and Dave Burkhart. And Ann O’Neill took first place for writing.
Every day each of you works tirelessly to make CNN journalistically great. These awards are yet another acknowledgement that you are succeeding. Congratulations to our honored colleagues. We are all so proud of you.
Jeff