(Woodbury, New York, March 25, 2002) – The Radio-Television News Directors Association has honored News 12 Networks with a total of 4 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding achievement in electronic journalism. The awards were announced on March 21, 2002 in Washington D.C. All regional winners automatically become eligible for the national awards competition, which will be judged in early June.
In the Television Large Market category, covering the region of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, News 12.com, the official website of News 12 Networks, received the Murrow award for best web site. This is the second consecutive year News12.com has won the award, and only the second year the category has been offered. In the same regional market area, News 12 Long Island received two Murrow awards. One honor was for "Ride for Life: Montauk to Manhattan" in the Feature Reporting category, and the other was for "Long Island Ducks" in the Videography category. News 12 Connecticut also received a Murrow award in the Television Small Market category, covering the entire region of New England. The honor was for "Sunrise Softball" in the Sports Reporting category.
"This is a tough competition against tough competitors, and we're very proud this year News 12 Networks received more Edward R. Murrow awards than ever before," said Patrick Dolan, President of News 12 Networks. "Our job is to provide our viewers with coverage that is "as local as local news gets", and to meet the very highest standards of quality. We believe these honors are further proof that News 12 is the best choice for local news in the areas we serve."
The Radio-Television News Director Association has been honoring outstanding achievement in electronic journalism with the Murrow Awards since 1971. RTNDA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. RTNDA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 counties.
News 12 Networks is the country's first, largest, and most watched 24-hour local television news network. The Network is made up of 5 individual local news channels serving the areas of Long Island, New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut, Westchester County, and the Bronx. News 12 Networks is a cable exclusive service, reaching approximately 3.3 million households in the New York market. News 12 Networks is owned and operated by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.
Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation and NBC, is at the forefront of innovation in cable programming. For nearly 20 years, Rainbow has been delivering high-quality sports, entertainment and news to millions of subscribers. Rainbow manages the operations of American Movie Classics, Romance Classics, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel, MuchMusic, Rainbow Sports, News 12 Networks, MSG Metro Channels, Radio City Television as well as Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation
and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow owns a majority stake in Madison Square Garden
Properties which includes the Madison Square Garden Arena complex, the Knicks and the Rangers
professional sports teams, the MSG television network, and, most recently, Radio City Entertainment and a
long term lease on Radio City Music Hall. In addition, Rainbow is a fifty-percent partner in Fox Sports Net.
Cablevision Systems Corporation is one of the nation's leading telecommunications and entertainment companies, and one of the largest operators of cable television systems in the United States. Cablevision serves more than 3.4 million cable customers with major operations in the New York, Boston, and Cleveland metropolitan areas. Cablevision Lightpath, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides telephone service
to more than 1,000 businesses on Long Island and in Connecticut, while Optimum Online offers high-speed online and Internet access via cable modems to customers in the New York metro area. Cablevision also owns and operates The Wiz stores and Clearview Cinemas.