2. This year, I was proudest of our news organization for delivering on our commitment to put the voters at the very center of our political coverage. We, of course, covered the candidates and the campaigns and the daily political combat on the trail, but we made more space than ever before to keep the voices of the voters at the heart of our coverage across all of our platforms. That proved very helpful in keeping our audiences informed about what was driving their voting decisions, which was often not the same things that were dominating the news headlines of the day.
Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media
1. That first presidential debate on June 27th—standing in the control room that night I thought we might be witnessing the most consequential debate of the television age. It was a domino that changed a national election in ways we had never seen. Many books will be written about the summer of 2024.
2. This year, I was proudest of our news organization when the open rolled at 6 p.m. on Election Night. Hearing Brit Hume’s voice tee up the story of Democracy 2024 meant we had met the moment of the past four years and were ready to cover another presidential election with the best team and the best technology.
Meghan Rafferty, Executive Producer of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
1. Beyond politics, I think the rapid innovation we’re seeing in 2024 will be something for the history books. From the explosion of artificial intelligence to breakthroughs in weight loss medication, it’s extraordinary. There’s a lot of change happening in Americans’ lives, which is something we aim to explore each broadcast. Additionally, the audience’s embrace of positive news has been quite inspiring. We launched our series “There’s Good News Tonight” across all seven nights of our broadcast because of that and sent Lester to the Eclipse at the Indy 500 and to Paris for two weeks for the Olympics to capture that widening interest in sports, culture, and the hope out there.
2. I am always proud when we make bets on original impactful stories that go beyond the headlines. For example, our in-depth investigation into how a Texas medical school dissected the unclaimed bodies of the poor and sold and leased them out without families’ consent, as well as our report on medical debt that led to 11,500 families seeing their own debt wiped away.
Lester also conducted the first television interview with Robert Roberson, the man set to be executed in what would be the first for “shaken baby syndrome,” a scrutinized diagnosis. In their interview, Roberson asked the Governor to pardon him, and insisted it was a murder he did not commit. The interview ignited a national conversation about the reliability of forensic science and resulted in a decision to temporarily halt his death, hours from his execution. These original reports on Nightly News are proof journalism can make a difference and can drive accountability in a powerful way.
David Gelles, Executive Producer of NBC News’ Meet the Press with Kristen Welker
1. President Biden’s debate performance, the assassination attempt on Trump, and Biden dropping out of the race were the biggest political moments of the year other than Election Night.
2. I’m proud of how our news organization approached Kristen Welker’s exclusive interview with President-elect Trump, his first network interview since winning the election. We decided to focus on getting answers on what he will do in office, resulting in an incredible amount of news and answers to the questions the American people have been waiting for. We released the full transcript and full video on NBCNews.com and YouTube for all to see, and so far, the full interview has been viewed by over six million people on YouTube, with over 50 million views on TikTok. It’s a great moment for NBC News and Meet the Press.
