The Edward R. Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association in recognition of what the Association terms "outstanding achievements in electronic journalism."


Awards and categories

Awards given out include the following types:

• "Overall Excellence," for the best journalism
• "Newscast," honoring single whole newscasts
• "Spot News Coverage," for immediate coverage of breaking stories
• "Continuing Coverage," recognizing long-term coverage of developing major stories
• "Investigative Reporting"
• "Feature Reporting"
• "Hard News"
• "Sports Reporting"
• "News Series"
• "News Documentary"

There are also technical awards for a handful of disciplines:

• "Videography"
• "Use of Sound"
• "Writing"
• "Web Site"

The awards are further subdivided into separate competitions for TV networks, large and small TV markets, radio networks, and large and small radio markets. Thus, there are a total of six "Excellence" awards in a given year, six "Newscast" awards, and so on.

Judging

Submissions are judged by a panel of professional journalists. Entries from individual stations are judged regionally. The finalists from each region are given an ERM Regional Award, and the opportunity to compete in the national awards. It is possible for the judges to decide that none of the entries in a given category merit an award, in which case none will be offered.