J-School Faculty and Alumni Honored with News & Documentary Award Nominations

From top left to right: Emily Taguchi, Luisa Conlon, Yousur Alhlou, Singeli Agnew, Kathryn Hurd, Michael Milano, Bill Whitaker, Jeff Plunkett, Geeta Anand and David Barstow, Marjorie Mcafee, Roberto Daza, Gisela Pérez de Acha, Durrell Dawson, Molly Forster, David Gelles, Ellie Lightfoot, Japhet Weeks, Tommy Nguyen, David Thigpen and David Corvo.

When the 43rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards are presented on Wednesday (Sept. 28) and Thursday (Sept. 29) and by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, 22 Berkeley Journalism alumni and faculty will be among the nominees being honored.

We were thrilled to not only see veteran journalists Bill Whitaker (’78/’17) and David Corvo (’72) honored, but also more recent graduates and first-time nominees like Luisa Conlon (’17), Molly Forster (’20) and Mike Milano (’15).

Berkeley Journalism’s “American Insurrection,” a documentary about the threat posed by militia groups, white supremacists and other extremist groups, was also nominated. The FRONTLINE documentary aired nationally on PBS stations across the country last April.

The 90-minute documentary features in-depth reporting by alumna Gisela Pérez de Acha (’20) and two students at Berkeley Journalism, Kathryn Hurd (’21) and Ellie Lightfoot (’21). They worked under the editorial leadership of Geeta Anand and the supervision of Professor David Barstow. Lecturer David Thigpen, who taught a class at Berkeley Journalism on covering extremism, provided key editorial guidance.

“I am so grateful for the confidence placed in our students and our Investigative Reporting Program by FRONTLINE’s Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath and A.C. Thompson of ProPublica,” Geeta Anand, Dean of Berkley Journalism said. “Because of these great journalism partners, our students were given the reporting opportunity of a lifetime.”

Here are the nominees from Berkeley Journalism’s beloved community:

Reporters: Kathryn Hurd, Ellie Lightfoot, Gisela Perez De Acha
Editors: Geeta Anand, David Barstow, David Thigpen
“American Insurrection”
FRONTLINE In Partnership with ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program
BEST DOCUMENTARY &
OUTSTANDING CURRENT AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY

Singeli Agnew / Director of Cinematography
“How a U.S. Drone Strike Killed the Wrong Person”
The New York Times
OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE NEWS COVERAGE: SHORT FORM

Singeli Agnew / Cinematographer
“The Jim Crow Convictions”
Fault Lines Al Jazeera International
OUTSTANDING CRIME AND JUSTICE COVERAGE

Yousur Alhlou / Producer / Cinematographer / Editor
“‘So They Know We Existed’: Palestinians Film War in Gaza”
OUTSTANDING HARD NEWS FEATURE STORY: LONG FORM

“‘So They Know We Existed’: Palestinians Film War in Gaza,”—weaving together intimate interviews with personal cellphone footage—also recently won a Peabody award.

Luisa Conlon / Co-Producer / Director of Photography
“The Last Cruise”
HBO Documentary Films
OUTSTANDING SHORT DOCUMENTARY

David Corvo / Producer / Senior Executive Producer
“The Investigation”
Dateline NBC
OUTSTANDING CRIME AND JUSTICE COVERAGE

Durrell Dawson / Producer
“Assault on the Capitol”
CBS News
OUTSTANDING LIVE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE

Roberto Daza / Producer
“Battle For Care”
VICE News
OUTSTANDING CONTINUING NEWS COVERAGE: SHORT FORM

Molly Forster / Producer
“Buried”
Showtime
OUTSTANDING CRIME AND JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY

David Gelles
“Boeing’s Fatal Flaw”
FRONTLINE and The New York Times
OUTSTANDING BUSINESS, CONSUMER OR ECONOMIC COVERAGE

Tommy Nguyen / Writer
“Romance Scams”
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller National Geographic
OUTSTANDING WRITING: DOCUMENTARY

Jeff Plunkett
“Motorcycle Clubs”
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller / National Geographic
OUTSTANDING WRITING: DOCUMENTARY

Jeff Plunkett
“Romance Scams”
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller / National Geographic
OUTSTANDING WRITING: DOCUMENTARY

Marjorie McAfee / Coordinating Producer
Nightline
OUTSTANDING RECORDED NEWS PROGRAM

Mike Milano / Director / Producer
“137 Shots”
Netflix
OUTSTANDING CURRENT AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY

Emily Taguchi / Coordinating Producer
Nightline
OUTSTANDING RECORDED NEWS PROGRAM

Amina Waheed / Director/Producer
“Unrelinquished: When Abusers Keep Their Guns”
Fault Lines Al Jazeera International
OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE NEWS COVERAGE: LONG FORM

Japhet Weeks / Senior Producer
“I’m a Trans Runner Struggling to Compete Fairly”
New York Times Opinion Video
OUTSTANDING NEWS ANALYSIS: EDITORIAL AND OPINION

Bill Whitaker / Correspondent
60 Minutes
OUTSTANDING RECORDED NEWS PROGRAM

“An ever-growing cadre of UCB J-School alums are doing some of the best work in our field – I’m proud to call so many of them my colleagues, and grateful for the shared sense of professional responsibility and ambition,” Singeli Agnew said.

Michael Milano, director and producer of the Netflix documentary, “137 Shots“, nominated in the ‘Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary’ category, said, “It’s important to note that this film was nominated in the Current Affairs category, when the inciting incident was in 2012, and the story we cover arches back generations. It speaks to how timeless police brutality is in American culture, and the continued need to do the reporting calling it out. I was proud to begin covering this story as a student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.”

Jeff Plunkett (‘05) received three nominations as the Showrunner/Executive Producer on the National Geographic series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, one for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary (for the Guns episode) and two Outstanding Writing nominations (for Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Romance Scams). “I’m really proud of the team we’ve assembled and the stories we’ve told on Trafficked — and very excited to be nominated alongside my former Berkeley classmate Tommy Nguyen.”

Tommy Nguyen (’05) is nominated as a writer in the category of Outstanding Writing: Documentary for his work on the “Romance Scams” episode of “Trafficked,” a documentary series on the National Geographic channel. “I’m thrilled to be nominated with showrunner and fellow J-school friend Jeff Plunkett (’05) on this really interesting episode of an amazing show!”

“It was an honor to work as a cinematographer on The New York Times’ Death Through a Nurse’s Eyes and HBO’s The Last Cruise, two films that recognize the sacrifice and courage of frontline workers,” Luisa Conlon (’17) said. “I’m thrilled to be among the many J-School alumni recognized at the News & Doc Emmys.”

David Gelles (‘08), a climate reporter at The New York Times said, “It’s an honor to be nominated alongside so many other accomplished J-School alum.”

The 43rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards honor programming content from more than 2500 submissions that originally premiered in calendar year 2021, judged by a pool of over 800 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media News & Documentary industry. The awards will be presented at the Palladium Times Square in New York City in two individual ceremonies: News Categories – Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. and Documentary Categories – Thursday, September 29th, 2022.