The David Kaplan Award 2007

Best TV spot news reporting from abroad

AWARD YEAR: 2007

AWARD NAME: The David Kaplan Award 2007

RECIPIENTS: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger Brian Ross, Steven Baker, Madeleine Sauer, Karen Brenner

AFFILIATION: ABC News — Nightline

HONORED WORK: “The Other War”

Spending time with the soldiers of Battle Company, 173rd U.S. Airborne, as they lived — and died — in the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan, freelance photographer Tim Hetherington gives viewers a gutsy, poignant view of what American troops face in “The Other War.” Hetherington and Junger traveled with a platoon of soldiers in one of the war’s most dangerous combat arenas. His camera work and his team’s elegant writing and editing provided a dramatic view of what the U.S. is facing in the struggle against the Taliban and foreign Jihadi militants. As Hetherington observed operation “Rock Avalanche,” three U.S. soldiers died and eight were wounded in close combat. They also accompanied soldiers into the midst of angry villagers after an Apache helicopter attack killed Afghan civilians. Hetherington gives viewers a sense of the rarely seen enemy and the raw emotions of both civilians and soldiers. On one raid, Hetherington broke his ankle and had to walk four hours down a mountainside to reach safety. Their work displayed not only great personal courage but the power of great journalism.

Citation for Excellence:
Jim Sciutto, Angus Hines, Tom Murphy
“Inside Myanmar”
ABC-World News Tonight