ABC Takes 15 News / Documentary Emmys

ABC, long the ratings leader in the evening-news competition, also came out on top in the Emmy Awards for news and documentaries, winning 15 statuettes one more than CBS (10) and NBC (four) combined.

In ceremonies Wednesday night in New York honoring programs broadcast in 1991, ABC received five of its Emmys for coverage of the Persian Gulf War and its aftermath.

“PrimeTime Live,” ABC’s Thursday night news magazine, won another five Emmys, and “20/20,” its Friday night news magazine, took two Emmys for background analysis of a single current story.

ABC’s “Nightline” picked up awards for coverage of the Kuwait oil fires and for an investigation into the Iran-Contra tapes. The network’s two other Emmys went to “ABC’s World of Discovery.”

The Public Broadcasting Service won 11 Emmys, including four for “Frontline,” two each for “Nova” and “National Geographic Specials” and one each for “P.O.V.,” “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” and “The American Experience.”

Segments of CBS’ venerable “60 Minutes” won two Emmys for investigative journalism, and Mike Wallace won another for an interview of Barbra Streisand.

“The CBS Evening News With Dan Rather” captured three awards and won a fourth in combination with the network’s weekend newscasts. “48 Hours” and “CBS Sunday Morning” also won Emmys, as did the network’s special events division for graphic design.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop was honored with an Emmy for his series of NBC specials. NBC’s other winners were Bryant Gumbel for an interview with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), “Expose” for a report on terrorism and the “NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw” for coverage of Kurdish refugees.

Cable networks combined for 11 Emmys, with TBS taking five, including four for “National Geographic Explorer.” Cable News Network, the Discovery Channel and HBO each received two.