NPR, KTTV Win Broadcast Awards

National Public Radio won the top prize and KTTV-TV Channel 11 in Los Angeles was among other organizations honored Thursday with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism.

National Public Radio, in winning the gold baton award, was cited for having “transformed radio news with the depth, creativity, diversity and worldwide range of its reporting, principally through its news programs ‘All Things Considered,’ ‘Morning Edition’ and ‘Weekend Edition.’ ”

The judges had special praise for NPR’s coverage of the Los Angeles riots and the Clarence Thomas confirmation process, and for its “American Folklife” series and “Voices From the Backstairs” documentary.

KTTV won one of 14 silver baton awards for its coverage of the trial of the four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King. The judges lauded the station for presenting more than 200 hours of programming and doing so with “exemplary responsibility and professionalism.”

Coverage of the rioting that erupted in the aftermath of the verdicts in that trial earned a silver baton award for ABC’s “Nightline.”

Among other winners:

* KERA-TV in Dallas and David Grubin Productions for “The American Experience: LBJ,” a documentary on PBS.

* CBS’ “60 Minutes” for its report “Made in China.”

* PBS’ “Frontline” and producer Carole Langer for the documentary “Who Killed Adam Mann?”

* Mark Kitchell and PBS’ “P.O.V.” for the documentary “Berkeley in the Sixties.”

* HBO for the documentary “Abortion: Desperate Choices.”

* Lucky Duck Productions and Nickelodeon, “Nick News W/5.”