In a note to the staff, obtained by TVNewser, CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus congratulates "those who made the winning" of several Edward R. Murrow awards possible, including the award for Best Newscast for the broadcast on August 9, 2007. "It was an average news day, but the EVENING NEWS' coverage was anything but average," McManus writes. That day's broadcast included stories on the mid-west heatwave, the Crandall Canyon mine disaster, a follow-up to the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the Dow dropping 387 points. In all, CBS News won nine awards for TV, Radio and the Web. The memos from McManus and from CBS Radio News' Harvey Nagler, after the jump.

And one more note: Having only been on the TVNewser job a few weeks, August 9, 2007 just happened to be the day CBS News invited yours truly to pay a visit to the broadcast center for a meet and greet. I was invited to sit in the CBS Evening News rundown meeting that day with EP Rick Kaplan and the production team.

----- Original Message -----
From: McManus, Sean
To: @CND News
Sent: Tue Jul 01 16:08:55 2008
Subject: Message from Sean McManus

I'm proud to share the news that CBS News has won nine Edward R. Murrow Awards—more than any other network. CBS News won three television awards, CBS News Radio received five awards, more than any other network radio news organization, and CBSNews.com won one. The Murrows are awarded by the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). The winners are:

— Best Newscast: CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC of August 9, 2007. It was an average news day, but the EVENING NEWS' coverage was anything but average.

• John Blackstone at the Crandall Canyon mine; George Osterkamp, producer, Maria Nicoletti, editor.
• Kelly Wallace on the Dow’s loss of 387 points; David Frifield, producer, Joe Frandino, editor.
• Sheila MacVicar on how Europeans have prevented bridge collapses, adding depth and perspective to the bridge tragedy in Minneapolis; Lynne Edwards, producer, Brian Robbins, editor.
• Jim Axelrod on President Bush’s reaction to Iraq and Iran; Andrea Bruce, producer, Rob Blache, editor.
• Kelly Cobiella on the heat wave blanketing the mid-west; Clifden Kennedy, producer, Craig Crawford, editor.
• Dr. Jon LaPook with a fascinating report on how the human body copes with heat; Dorie Klissas, Susan Schackman, producers, Mike Cesario, editor.
• Cynthia Bowers had a very human story on how the home front is coping with the war; Charlie Brooks, producer, Dave Thomas, editor.
• Richard Schlesinger showed the newest, stylish space suit designed by a MIT lab; Andy Wolff, producer, Tom McEneny, editor.

— Best Continuing Story: Lara Logan, "Boots on the Ground," CBS EVENING NEWS, a series of reports about American troops in Baghdad.

• Jan. 24 -- Randall Joyce, Phil Ittner (Iraq), Mimi Spillane (London), producers; Chris Raine (London), editor.
• June 8 -- Max McClellan (Washington), Randall Joyce (Iraq), producers; Dan Radovsky (Washington), editor.
• Sept. 4 -- Randall Joyce, producer; Mark Ludlow, editor.
• Sept. 5 -- Lynne Edwards (London), Max McClellan (Iraq) producers; Brian Robbins (London), Mark Ludlow (Baghdad), editors.

— Best Feature Story: Kimberly Dozier, “The Way Home,” CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING, a report on two wounded women veterans. This report also won a Peabody. Reid Orvedahl, producer; David Small, editor.

-----------

From Harvey Nagler, CBS Radio News:

The Radio Television News Directors Association announced today that we won a remarkable five Edward R.Murrow awards including the one for "Overall Excellence Award." This is the second year in a row that we won this honor, our industry’s most prestigious. Quite an accomplishment!

The Overall Excellence Award included examples of our coverage of the year’s biggest stories, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, the fires in California, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the special news series we did over the course of the year Our other honors: "Best Spot News Award" for our coverage of the Virginia Tech Shooting. You might remember that we were on the scene shortly after the shootings took place and we stayed with the story until well after the funerals for the victims.

Both the Overall Excellence and Spot News Awards are "Staff awards." Best Newscast: Our 6pm hourly on April 17,2007 anchored by Harley Carnes and edited by Rob Mank was devoted to coverage of a memorial service at Virginia Tech. That cast creatively used natural sound and a reporter whip-around that gave listeners a lot of information in a limited amount of time.

Dave Ross won the "Writing Award" for "Tap Three Times", a very funny parody he wrote to the tune of "Knock Three Times" about the Sen. Larry Craig bathroom incident. CBS' Harry Smith won this award last year. Steve Futterman received the "Best Use of Sound Award for his reporting of Bob Barker's final "The Price Is Right" show. What made the report stand out was the use of natural sound of the fans rendition of the show's theme.

It was fifty years ago this year that Murrow delivered his "Lights in the Box" speech in which he challenged the broadcast industry to fulfill the promise of the medium to serve the public good. His pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name. You should be extraordinarily proud of your work as exemplified by these awards. They will be presented at a dinner in New York on October 13,2008.

Congratulations to you all! Harvey