| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| Marty Haag | Personal Award for his work as news director at WFAA-TV/Dallas, TX and as Senior Vice-President of Broadcast News Operations for Belo |
| CBS News | 48 Hours, for the report "Heroes Under Fire," which examined the cause and aftermath of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse fire |
| CBS News | 60 Minutes II, for the report "Death by Denial," which examined the HIV/AIDS outbreak in Africa |
| NBC News | Dateline NBC, for the report "The Paper Chase," a look at a "paper file review" of one auto accident victim's medical claim |
| KHOU-TV/Houston, TX | "Treading on Danger," an investigation of failures of Firestone tires on Ford vehicles |
| KBS Chong-Ju | An Eighty-Four Year Old Youngful Man Lives in the Cabin |
| WJXT/Jacksonville, FL | Behind Closed Doors, a documentary examining treatment of domestic violence victims |
| P.O.V./American Documentary Inc., National Asian American Telecommunications Association, and Sun Fountain Productions | Regret to Inform |
| HBO, Whiteford-Hadary, University of Maryland, and Tapestry International | King Gimp |
| Wall to Wall for Channel 4 in association with WNET/New York, NY | The 1900 House |
| Heartlove Productions, Lovett Productions, HBO | Cancer: Evolution to Revolution |
| WGBH-TV /Frontline, co-produced with Rain Media Inc. and Cam Bay Productions | Frontline, for Drug Wars |
| HBO Sports | Ali-Frazier 1: One Nation...Divisible |
| CNN Productions, Insight News Television, and Channel Four International | CNN Perspectives: Cry Freetown |
| David Grubin Productions Inc. and Devillier Donegan Enterprises | Napoleon |
| BBC, Discovery Channel, and TV Asahi, in association with ProSieben and France 3 | Walking with Dinosaurs |
| Marketplace Productions/Minnesota Public Radio, in association with the University of Southern California | Marketplace |
| Sound Portraits Productions | Witness to an Execution, a feature story on NPR's All Things Considered profiling capital punishment in Texas |
| National Public Radio | "The NPR 100," a showcase of "the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" |
| True Vision Productions Ltd. for Channel 4 in association with HBO | Slavery |
| Katie Couric and NBC News | Award for Couric's series "Confronting Colon Cancer" |
| Learning Matters Inc. and The Merrow Report | School Sleuth: The Case of an Excellent School |
| WGBH-TV/Boston, MA and Cinar | Arthur |
| Idaho Public Television and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare | Hearts and Minds: Teens and Mental Illness |
| WGBH-TV Science Unit and Production Group, Inc. | Building Big |
| NBC and John Wells Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television | The West Wing |
| HBO, Chase Films, and Brad Grey Television | The Sopranos |
| Robert Greenwald Productions Inc. and Pearson Television International | Sharing the Secret |
| BBC America and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA | ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, for David Copperfield |
| A&E Networks and Columbia TriStar Television in association with Chris/Rose Productions Inc. | The Crossing |
| Blown Deadline Productions, Knee Deep Productions, and HBO | The Corner |
| Fox, Satin City, and Regency Television | Malcolm in the Middle |
| Mad Cow Productions Inc. in association with Comedy Central | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for its Indecision 2000 series |
| Tiger Aspect Productions for NVC Arts and Channel 4 | Howard Goodall's Big Bangs |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| ABC News | Separate awards for the networks' coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks |
| National Public Radio | Separate awards for the networks' coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks |
| Tenth Planet Productions and the U.S. broadcast and cable networks | ' |
| NBC and John Wells Productions | Third Watch, for "In Their Own Words," a stand-alone profile of real-life responders to the 9/11 attack on New York City |
| Hardcash Productions, Channel 4, and CNN Productions | CNN Presents, for the documentaries Beneath the Veil and Unholy War |
| Touchstone Television | ' |
| WNET/New York, NY | American Masters, for F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams |
| WCPO-TV/Cincinnati | Visions of Vine Street, an "I-Team" documentary profiling the Cincinnati thoroughfare and the adjacent Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and the issues that affect the area |
| Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | "A Murder in the Neighbourhood," a report airing on Sunday Edition that profiled a murder in Pickering, Ontario and its effects on the victim's neighbors |
| Television Broadcasts Limited | WTO Challenge |
| Brook Lapping Productions for BBC2, in association with WGBH/Boston, MA, RTÉ, La Sept ARTE, SBS, and YLE | Endgame in Ireland |
| 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks, Luna Ray Films, Black Starz!, KQED/San Francisco, PBS and Black Heritage Network | A Huey P. Newton Story |
| Carlton Production in association with The Learning Channel for Channel 4 | Hell in the Pacific |
| HBO Films, produced in association with the BBC | Conspiracy |
| Showtime, Echo Lake Productions, and Sidekick Entertainment Productions | Things Behind the Sun |
| Avenue Pictures in association with HBO Films | Wit |
| Wilmore Films, Regency Television, and 20th Century Fox Television | The Bernie Mac Show |
| Peter Rosen Productions Inc., KERA-TV/Dallas, TX, and the Van Cliburn Foundation | The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge |
| Survival Anglia Ltd. | Mzima – Haunt of the Riverhorse |
| Slow Motion Ltd. and WGBH/Boston, MA | ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, for Talking Heads II – Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet |
| Ciesla Foundation and Cinemax | The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg |
| Independent Television Service, Paul & Sandra Fierlinger, and AR&T Associates, Inc. | Still Life with Animated Dogs |
| SoundVision Productions | The DNA Files |
| Norman Twain Productions with Shelby Stone Productions in association with HBO Films | Boycott |
| Teachers Documentary Project | The First Year |
| National Film Board of Canada | My Father's Camera |
| Youth Radio | Institutional Award for the media outlet and its training of teenagers in the art of radio production and storytelling |
| Nickelodeon | Little Bill |
| Nickelodeon | Blue's Clues |
| WGBH/Boston, MA | Institutional Award for its overall excellence in public broadcasting |
| CBS News | 60 Minutes II, for "Memories of a Massacre," which recounted the Thanh Phong raid during the Vietnam War |
| Band of Brothers Ltd., on behalf of DreamWorks and Playtone | Band of Brothers |
| Nightline | Institutional Award to the ABC News program |
| National Public Radio | Jazz Profiles |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| ABC News | Nightline, for "Heart of Darkness," a series of reports on the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| ABC News | Nightline, for "The Survivors," a profile of 2 burn victims of the 9/11 attack on The Pentagon |
| ALT Films, in association with Paramount Pictures for WGBH/Boston, MA, presented on PBS | ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection: Almost a Woman |
| BBC Radio 4, London, UK | File on 4: Export Controls |
| Blue Angel Films Ltd., and Tyrone Productions for WNET/New York, NY | Stage on Screen: Beckett on Film |
| CBS | 9/11 |
| CNN | Terror on Tape |
| Court TV, JB Media, and Hearst Entertainment | The Interrogation of Michael Crowe |
| David E. Kelley Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Television | Boston Public, for the episode "Chapter Thirty-Seven" |
| ESPN, Bristol, Connecticut, and Lake Champlain Productions | The Complete Angler |
| Fuji Television Network Inc., Tokyo, Japan | The Hepatitis C Epidemic: A 15-Year Government Cover-up |
| Greenblatt/Janollari Studios and Actual Size Films Inc., in association with HBO Original Programming | Six Feet Under |
| HBO and Simmons/Lathan TV | Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry |
| Kitchen Sisters, Sonic Memorial Collaboration, NPR's Lost & Found Sound, Ben Shapiro Productions, Jamie York Productions, Jay Allison Productions, Radio Diaries, The Public Collaboration, Picture Projects with dotsperinch | The Sonic Memorial Project and SonicMemorial.org, for the aural chronicling of life around the World Trade Center |
| KPRC-TV/Houston, TX | "DNA Protects Men of Dishonor," an investigation into prevention of DNA evidence being used in rape cases in the US Military |
| London Weekend Television Production for WGBH/Boston, in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, presented on PBS | ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: Othello |
| NBC Studios in association with DreamWorks Television Inc. and Nemo Films | Boomtown |
| Nebraska ETV Network for American Experience, a production of WGBH/Boston, presented on PBS | American Experience: Monkey Trial |
| Public Television Service Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan | How High is the Mountain |
| Quest Productions and Video Line Productions for Thirteen/WNET, New York, presented on PBS | The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow |
| Scott Free Productions, in association with HBO Films and BBC Films | The Gathering Storm |
| SET Productions and C-Films Productions for WGBH/Boston, in association with France2, Abu Dhabi Television, and Tel-Ad Israel, presented on PBS | Frontline: Shattered Dreams of Peace, The Road From Oslo |
| Showtime Networks Inc., in association with Viacom Productions Inc., and A Jersey Guys Production | Bang Bang You're Dead |
| Sound Portraits Productions, presented on National Public Radio | Yiddish Radio Project |
| Talkback Productions for BBC America via BBC Films and Single Drama | Almost Strangers |
| WNET/New York, NY | EGG, the Arts Show |
| Turner Network Television, Rosemont Productions International Ltd., Angel Brown Productions, in association with Spirit Dance Productions | Door to Door |
| WBEZ-FM, Chicago Public Radio | Stories of Home |
| WFAA-TV/Dallas, TX | "Fake Drugs, Real Lives," a series of reports revealing contrived drug cases investigated by Dallas police |
| WISN-TV/Milwaukee, WI | "Sounding the Alarm," a report revealing the lack of effectiveness of smoke alarms on children |
| York Zimmerman Inc., in association with WETA-TV, Washington, D.C., presented on PBS | Bringing Down a Dictator |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| CBS News | 60 Minutes, for the report "All in the Family," which examined political and financial ties between those in the US government and winners of Defense Department contracts |
| NBC News | A Question of Fairness, a Tom Brokaw-led report that profiled the effects of affirmative action on the University of Michigan |
Firelight Media for American Experience and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA
| American Experience, for The Murder of Emmett Till |
Frontline, The New York Times, and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA
| Frontline, for "A Dangerous Business," which examined deaths and injuries suffered by employees of a cast iron pipe maker |
NOVA/WGBH-TV/Boston, MA, in association with David Hickman Films, Sveriges Television and Norddeutscher Rundfunk
| NOVA, for "The Elegant Universe with Brian Greene" |
WNET/New York, NY, co-produced with Idéale Audience, Scorer Associates Ltd., BBC, ARTE France, Opéra National de Paris and NHK, with the participation of Musée d'Orsay, AVRO, and SVT
| Great Performances, for Degas and the Dance |
P.O.V./American Documentary Inc., Independent Television Service, and National Black Programming Consortium
| P.O.V., for Two Towns of Jasper |
P.O.V./American Documentary Inc., Independent Television Service, Zula Pearl Films, and National Black Programming Consortium
| P.O.V., for Flag Wars |
| Minnesota Public Radio in association with the San Francisco Symphony | |
| WESH-TV/Orlando, FL and The Orlando Sentinel | "Building Homes: Building Problems," a joint investigation into shoddy workmanship in Central Florida's building industry |
The Irish Film Board NPS & COBO, RTÉ, BBC, ZDF/ARTE, and YLE
| Chavez: Inside the Coup |
| Viacom, Kaiser Family Foundation, MTV, Noggin/The N, Dancing Toad Productions | Award for the Know HIV/AIDS and Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself campaigns |
Viacom International, Mango Network, Nickelodeon, and MTV
| Dora the Explorer |
| KHOU-TV/Houston, TX | "Evidence of Errors," an investigation into mistakes made by the Houston Police Department's DNA crime lab |
| KMGH-TV/Denver, CO | "Honor and Betrayal: Scandal at the Academy," a series of reports examining sexual assaults at the United States Air Force Academy |
The University of Memphis
| Hoxie: The First Stand |
BBC
| The Office |
BBC Correspondent Production
| Israel's Secret Weapon, a report airing on BBC2's Correspondent series examining the secrecy behind Israel's nuclear weapons production |
| The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and MacNeil/Lehrer Productions | Award for "Jobless Recovery: Non-Working Numbers," Paul Solman's report examining the inadequacy of government unemployment data |
| WCNC-TV/Charlotte, NC | Award for an investigation into dental clinics in North Carolina who sought millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursement |
| TV Asahi | Mother Flew Away as a Kite |
| Bill Moyers | Personal Award for Moyers' career of "excellence in the use of television to educate, inform, and challenge received ideas" |
Down to Earth Productions
| Sisters in Pain |
Bachrach/Gottlieb Production
| Soldier's Girl |
| KRON-TV/San Francisco, CA and Young Broadcasting | Students Rising Above |
| Blown Deadline Productions in association with HBO Original Programming | The Wire |
| TV 2, Cinemax, HBO, and BBC | To Live is Better Than to Die |
Christian Frei Filmproductions in association with Swiss National Television and Suissimage and Cinemax
| War Photographer |
| Atlantic Public Media | Award for the Transom.org website and its showcasing of and resource for public radio producers |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| CBS News | 60 Minutes II, for a report examining abuse and torture of prisoners by US Army and CIA personnel at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison |
| National Public Radio | Award for the network's reportage of the Iraq War |
| WNYC/New York, NY and National Public Radio | On the Media |
| WNYC/New York, NY and Public Radio International | Studio 360 American Icons, for the episode examining Herman Melville's Moby-Dick |
| Wisconsin Public Radio and Public Radio International | To the Best of Our Knowledge |
| Endor Productions in association with BBC and BBC America | State of Play |
| Hat Trick Productions and BBC America | The Kumars at No. 42 |
| BBC Television News | Separate awards for the networks' reports on the civil war and genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur |
| Channel One News | Separate awards for the networks' reports on the civil war and genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur |
| Comedy Central | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for ' |
| WBAL-TV/Baltimore, MD | Award for an investigation revealing leaks of untreated sewage from a Centreville, MD treatment plant into the waters feeding Chesapeake Bay and motivations by area political and business officials to cover it up |
| WTVF-TV/Nashville, TN | "Friends in High Places," a multi-year investigation into the awarding of no-bid state contracts to friends of former Tennessee governor Don Sundquist |
| WFAA-TV/Dallas, TX | State of Denial, a multi-part series investigating questionable practices by state agencies and major insurance companies involved with the Texas workers compensation system |
| Filmmakers Collaborative, Blueberry Hill Productions for American Experience, WGBH-TV/Boston, MA | American Experience, for Tupperware! |
| Televiso de Catalunya and Bausan Films in association with Cinemax Reel Life | Balseros |
| Zendo Entertainment in association with Cinemax Reel Life | Bus 174 |
| Clinica Estetico and LisaGay Inc. in association with HBO | ' |
| Cort/Madden Productions in association with HBO Films | Something the Lord Made |
| Red Board Productions and Paramount Television in association with HBO Entertainment | Deadwood |
| Discovery Channel and Vulcan Productions in association with Gemini Productions and Antenna Film | ' |
| Howe Sound Films and Force Four Entertainment in association with CBC | Human Cargo |
| CultureWorks and the WFMT Radio Network | Leonard Bernstein: An American Life |
| The Rhythm and Blues Foundation and Public Radio International | Let the Good Times Roll |
| Link TV | ' |
| Nursery Tap, LLC | Nursery Tap, Hip to Toe |
| Grant Tinker | Personal Award for his work as CEO of MTM Enterprises and chairman/CEO of NBC |
| Bill Brummel Productions for The History Channel | Rwanda: Do Scars Ever Fade? |
| Univision | Award for "Salud es Vida...Enterate!" the broadcaster's initiative to promote health issues to the Latino community |
| Sesame Workshop, Kwasukasukela, and South African Broadcasting Corporation | Takalani Sesame Presents "talk to me...", a campaign promoting discussions about HIV/AIDS with children |
| CNBC | The Age of Wal-Mart: Inside America's Most Powerful Company |
| WITI/Milwaukee, WI | "The Bully Project," an "investigation-turned-community-outreach-program" examining the issue of school bullying |
| Trio and Post Consumer Media | The N-Word |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| WLOX-TV/Biloxi, MS | Separate awards for the news outlets' coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath |
| WWL-TV/New Orleans, LA | Separate awards for the news outlets' coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath |
| NBC News | Separate awards for the news outlets' coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath |
| CNN | Separate awards for the news outlets' coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath |
| TVE | China: A Million Steps Ahead |
| Robert Kenner Films, WGBH Educational Foundation, Wisconsin Public Television, Playtone, and BBC | American Experience, for Two Days in October |
| BBC | This World, for Bad Medicine |
| BBC and BBC America | Viva Blackpool |
| BBC, BBC Factual and Learning, and BBC Drama | BBC DoNation Season, a programming initiative to promote awareness of organ donations |
| BBC, in association with HBO Documentary Films, Evanston Township High School, and La Camioneta | Children of Beslan, about the Beslan school hostage crisis |
| BBC and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA in association with Deep Indigo | Bleak House |
| WNET/New York, NY, Grey Water Park Productions, Spitfire Pictures, and Cappa/DeFina Productions, in co-production with Vulcan Productions, BBC/Arena, and NHK | American Masters, for No Direction Home — Bob Dylan |
| Deeble and Stone Productions, NHK, WNET/New York, NY, Granada International, BBC and ZDF | The Queen of Trees |
| P.O.V./American Documentary, Inc., Independent Television Service, and Realside Productions | P.O.V., for Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed |
| Independent Television Service | A Room Nearby, directed by Paul Fierlinger |
| David E. Kelley Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television | Boston Legal |
| Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions, and Bad Hat Harry Productions, in association with NBC Universal Television Studios | House |
| Red House Entertainment for Showtime Original Pictures | Edge of America, directed by Chris Eyre |
| Comedy Central | South Park |
| Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | The Wire: The Impact of Electricity on Music |
| CBC/Radio-Canada La Première Chaîne | What If Winter Never Comes? |
| HBO Family | Classical Baby |
| KNBC/Los Angeles, CA | "Burning Questions," a report exposing environmental concerns at a large commercial/residential building project |
| KCNC-TV/Denver, CO | "How Far Will the Army Go?" a report revealing how U.S. Army recruitment officers instruct potential recruits on how to falsify school grades, diplomas, and drug tests |
| KCET/Los Angeles, CA in association with Sesame Workshop and 44 Blue Productions, Inc. | A Place of Our Own |
| WNYC/New York, NY | Award for the Radio Rookies Project |
| KMEX-TV/Los Angeles, CA | 15% of the United States, a series of reports dealing with issues of the Latino community |
| Documania Films, Sierra Tango Productions, and The History Channel | Save Our History: Voices of Civil Rights |
| Maha Films | The Staircase |
| Distant Horizon/Videovision Entertainment, Anant Singh, Nelson Mandela Foundation, M-Net Exciting Film, and National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, in association with HBO Films | Yesterday |
| Fox Television Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television | The Shield |
| R&D TV in association with NBC Universal Television Studios | Battlestar Galactica |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| Charlotte Street Films, CBC, BBC, ARTE GEIE TV, TV 2, Yle TV2, WDR TV, VRT TV, SVT, VPRO, NRK, ETV, TVE, and European Union Media Plus Program | Why We Fight |
| mun2 | For My Country? Latinos in the Military |
| WTNH-TV/New Haven, CT | Award for an investigative report revealing defective parts on UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters |
| NPR | "Mental Anguish and the Military," an All Things Considered report revealing harassment and ostracizing of Iraqi War veterans at Fort Collins, Colorado who sought out treatment for mental health problems |
| WISH-TV/Indianapolis, IN | "Command Mistake," a report examining an improvised explosive device's effect on an Iraqi War veteran as well as lack of protective padding in soldiers' helmets |
| HBO Documentary Films in association with Feury/Grant Productions and Downtown Community Television Center | Baghdad ER |
| HBO Documentary Films in association with 40 Acres | When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts |
| HBO Family | The Music in Me |
| HBO Sports | Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer |
| Company Pictures and Channel 4 in association with HBO Films | Elizabeth I |
| BBC, BBC Two, BBC Worldwide, and National Geographic | Galápagos, for the episode "Born of Fire" |
| BBC, BBC America, and Talkback Thames | Gideon's Daughter |
| Listen Up! Youth Media Network, Polimorfo, iEarn Sierra Leone, La Camioneta, Sawtona, Frame by Frame Fierce, Light House, Spy Hop Productions, Our Voice, and Evanston Township High School | Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet |
| WTHR-TV/Indianapolis, IN | Award for the investigative reports "Prescription Privacy" and "Cause for Alarm" |
| MediaRites Productions | Crossing East: Our History, Our Stories, Our America |
| ABC News | "Conduct Unbecoming," an investigation headed by Brian Ross that verified sexually inappropriate messages sent to congressional pages by Florida Representative Mark Foley |
| PJ Productions for ABC News | Out of Control: AIDS in Black America |
| Chocolate Moose Media, Inc. and Quintet Productions | Award for The Three Amigos Campaign, a program to build awareness of condom use to prevent HIV/AIDS |
| HearingVoices.com | Award for Crossing Borders, a radio documentary chronicling stories and the impact of illegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States |
| Touchstone Television | Scrubs, for the episode "My Way Home" |
| Touchstone Television | Ugly Betty |
| Be Square Productions, Inc. | Good Eats |
| Apartment 11 Productions, CBC Newsworld, RDI, Knowledge Network, and Canadian Television Fund | Braindamadj'd...Take II |
| Showtime and Mandalay Television | Brotherhood |
| KMOV-TV/St Louis, MO | "Left Behind: The Failure of East St. Louis Schools" |
| Dateline NBC | "The Education of Ms. Groves," which profiled the struggles of a Teach for America volunteer and her Atlanta middle school class |
| WBEZ/Chicago, IL | This American Life, for "Habeas Schmabeas," which examined abuses of Habeas corpus rights |
| Magic Lantern Productions and Channel 4 | Award for the FourDocs website |
| The Washington Post and WashingtonPost.com | Award for "Being a Black Man," a print and online series profiling the lives of contemporary black males |
| StoryCorps | Award to the organization for its "preservation of ideas and emotions, events and experiences" |
| Steeplechase Films, Inc., High Line Productions, Daniel Wolf, Inc., and WNET/New York, NY | American Masters, for |
| 60 Minutes | Award for a report revealing conflicting testimony and botched and/or unethical police and legal procedures surrounding the Duke University rape scandal |
| Rebel Base and Sony Pictures Television | The Boondocks, for the episode "Return of the King" |
| NBC Universal Television in association with Imagine Entertainment and Film 44 | Friday Night Lights |
| Reveille Productions in association with NBC Universal Television | The Office |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| ABC News | Bob Woodruff Reporting: Wounds of War – The Long Road Home of Our Nation's Veterans |
| Partisan Pictures, Inc. and WNET/New York, NY | Nature, for Silence of the Bees |
| mtvU | Award for Half of Us, an initiative to promote awareness of depression among college students |
| BBC World, BBC America, and BBC World News America | "White Horse Village," which profiled a "verdant, sleepy, near-feudal" hamlet in the Chinese interior and its dealings with modernity's encroachment |
| WNYC/New York, NY | The Brian Lehrer Show |
| HBO Documentary Films in association with Priddy Brothers | To Die in Jerusalem |
| KNXV-TV/Phoenix, AZ | "Security Risks at Sky Harbor," a report revealing TSA lapses at the Phoenix airport |
| Robert Levi Films, Independent Television Service, and Washington Square Films | Independent Lens, for Billy Strayhorn – Lush Life |
| Vixen Films and Independent Television Service | Sisters in Law |
| WSLS-TV/Roanoke, VA | Award for the station's breaking news coverage of the shootings at Virginia Tech and its immediate aftermath |
| Univision Communications | Award for Ya Es Hora, a public service initiative encouraging citizenship applications and voter registration by legal US immigrants |
| Texas Heritage Music Foundation | Whole Lotta Shakin` |
| American Public Media | Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi |
| American Public Media and San Francisco Symphony | The MTT Files |
| Bravo, The Weinstein Company, The Magical Elves, and Full Picture Entertainment | Project Runway |
| Craft in America, Inc. | Craft in America |
| NOVA/WGBH Educational Foundation, Vulcan Productions, Inc., and The Big Table Film Company | ' |
| CBS News | Sunday Morning, for "The Way Home," in which Kimberly Dozier interviewed two US servicewomen who lost limbs while in combat action in Iraq |
| 60 Minutes | "The Killings in Haditha," which investigated the 2005 massacre at the hands of a U.S. Marine squad in the western Iraqi city |
| Discovery Channel and BBC | Planet Earth |
| Hello Doggie, Inc, Busboy Productions, and Spartina Productions | The Colbert Report |
| National Public Radio, Chicago Public Radio, and Urgent Haircut Productions | Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! |
| AMC and Lionsgate Television | Mad Men |
| WGBH Educational Foundation | Design Squad |
| WFAA/Dallas, TX | Award for the investigative reports "Money for Nothing", "The Buried and the Dead", "Television Justice", and "Kinder Prison" |
| Jigsaw Pictures, Tall Woods, Wider Film, and ZDF/Arte | Taxi to the Dark Side |
| Center for Emerging Media | ' |
| WTAE-TV/Pittsburgh, PA | "Fight for Open Records," a series of reports revealing mismanagement and fund misappropriation within the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Association; the reports occurred only after a lengthy battle to have PHEAA financial records opened |
| bTV | A Journey Across Afghanistan: Opium and Roses |
| Frontline, Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd., and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA | Frontline, for Cheney's Law |
| Showtime, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, and Clyde Phillips Productions | Dexter |
| CNN | CNN Presents: God's Warriors |
| , Inc. | |
| Public Road Productions and Wieden & Kennedy | Nimrod Nation |
| Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video Television and Little Stranger, Inc. | 30 Rock |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| Sichuan Television | Award for coverage of the Sichuan earthquake |
| NPR | Award for on-scene coverage from Chengdu, China during and after the Sichuan earthquake |
| NPR | "36 Years in Solitary: Murder, Death and Justice on Angola," a report which questioned the role of two prisoners in a guard's 1972 murder at Louisiana State Penitentiary |
| Chicago Public Radio and the news division of NPR | This American Life, for "The Giant Pool of Money," which looked at the early stages of the subprime mortgage crisis |
| Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment | Entourage |
| HBO Documentary Films in association with Vermillion Films, Inc. | Hear and Now |
| Maysles Films in association with HBO Documentary Films and CVJ | The Gates |
| Ted Leonsis Productions in association with HBO Documentary Films | Nanking |
| Playtone in association with HBO Films | John Adams |
| WWL-TV/New Orleans, LA | Award for a series of reports exposing questionable financial practices by the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership program |
| The New York Times | Award for the newspaper's website and its innovations in online journalism |
| Kartemquin Educational Films and Independent Television Service | Independent Lens, for ' |
| Mosaic Films, Independent Television Service, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting | Independent Lens, for King Corn |
| Laboratory X, Inc., American Documentary, Inc., P.O.V., Center for Asian American Media, and PBS | POV, for Campaign |
| SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video | Saturday Night Live, for its 2008 political satire |
| ABC News | Hopkins |
| ABC Studios | Lost |
| WETA-TV/Washington, DC and PBS | Washington Week with Gwen Ifill & National Journal |
| The Metropolitan Opera Association in association with PBS and WNET/New York, NY | The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD Series |
| NBC Nightly News | "Tip of the Spear," a series of reports with Richard Engel following a military unit in Afghanistan |
| YouTube | Award to the Google independent subsidiary and its "promoting a free exchange of ideas... around the world" |
| NDR Fernsehen and Shanghai Media Group | The Red Race |
| Korean Broadcasting System | Jungle Fish |
| Hearst-Argyle Television | Institutional Award for "Commitment 2008," in which Hearst-Argyle stations devoted at least 10 minutes per day to candidate and issues coverage in the 30 days leading to the 2008 elections |
| Turner Classic Movies | Institutional Award to the classic film network and its commitment to "the place of film in social and cultural experience" |
| The Onion | Award for Onion News Network |
| 60 Minutes | "Lifeline," a report profiling operations of Remote Area Medical in the United States |
| WGBH-TV /NOVA, National Geographic Television, and John Rubin Productions, Inc. | Ape Genius |
| Sony Pictures Television, High Bridge Productions, and Gran Via Productions | Breaking Bad |
| ESPN Films and Shoot the Moon Productions | Black Magic |
| NBC and Zhang Yimou | Award for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics |
| KMGH-TV/Denver, CO | "Failing the Children: Deadly Mistakes," which uncovered systemic inadequacies in the Denver area foster care system |
| KLAS-TV/Las Vegas, NV | Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics, a documentary that examined the effect of plans to pump water from rural Nevada to the Las Vegas area |
| Twin Cities Public Television and WGBH-TV/Boston, MA | Depression: Out of the Shadows |
| Nickelodeon | ' |
| CNN | Award for the network's coverage of the 2008 Presidential primary campaigns and debates |
| Recipient | Area of Excellence |
| Diane Rehm | Personal Award for her work on her eponymous talk show |
| Twentieth Century Fox Television | Glee |
| Twentieth Century Fox Television in association with Levitan Lloyd Productions | Modern Family |
| 60 Minutes | "Sabotaging the System," a report examining the dangers of cyber terrorism |
| 60 Minutes | "The Co$t of Dying," a report examining the financial costs of end-of-life care |
| Sesame Workshop | Award for the SesameStreet.org website |
| KHOU/Houston, TX and Belo, Inc. | "Under Fire," a report revealing gender discrimination and corruption within the Texas National Guard |
| Folly River Inc. and ITVS | Independent Lens, for "The Order of Myths" |
| Green Fuse Films and ITVS | Independent Lens, for "Between the Folds" |
| National Public Radio | Award for Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson's reports from Afghanistan |
| National Public Radio | Award for the NPR.org website |
| Daybreak, Channel 4, and Target Entertainment | Endgame |
| Brook Lapping Productions | Iran & The West |
| Frontline and Rain Media | The Madoff Affair |
| GMA Network | I-Witness, for "Ambulansiyang De Paa", which highlighted low-level health care in the Philippine village of Bansud |
| Nancy Solomon | Award to the independent producer for the public radio documentary Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools are Failing Black Students, distributed on Public Radio Exchange |
| Korean Broadcasting System | Noodle Road: Connecting Asia’s Kitchens |
| WFLD-TV/Chicago, IL | Award for the station's coverage of the fatal beating of Derrion Albert and its website's complimentary content |
| Peter Jones Productions | Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times |
Trey Kay Productions
| The Great Textbook War |
| ABC News | A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains |
| A Goldhawk Essential Production and BBC World Service | The Day That Lehman Died |
| BBC America | BBC World News America |
| BBC America, BBC World News, and BBC World News America | "Where Giving Life is a Death Sentence," a report on the maternal mortality rate in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan |
| Mirage Enterprises and Cinechicks, in association with The Weinstein Company, BBC, and HBO Entertainment | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency |
| Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, and Sheleg, in association with HBO Entertainment | In Treatment |
| Darlow Smithson Productions, HBO Sports, and HBO Documentary Films | Thrilla in Manila |
| Worldwide Pants, Inc. | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, for the episode featuring Archbishop Desmond Tutu |
| KTVU/Oakland, CA | Award for the station's coverage of the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant, its aftermath and investigation |
| KCET/Los Angeles, CA | Up In Smoke, a series of reports on SoCal Connected concerning issues of marijuana in California |
| Oregon Public Broadcasting | Hard Times, a series of OPB Radio reports on the effects of unemployment in Oregon |
| WYFF/Greenville, SC | Chronicle, for "Paul’s Gift," which examined the process of organ donation after a donor's death |
| Vanguard | The OxyContin Express, which examined Oxycodone prescriptions by Florida doctors and its wide-ranging effects |
| NOW-TV News | Sichuan earthquake: One Year On |
| Sundance Channel and Brick City TV, LLC | Brick City |
| WNET/New York, NY | American Masters, for Jerome Robbins - Something to Dance About |
