FRONTLINE Wins Two duPont-Columbia Awards for Excellence

Two FRONTLINE films have been awarded 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University silver batons for excellence in broadcast and digital news. The batons are given to highlight exceptional news reporting across platforms.

“Technology has changed the way we get the news, but standards for journalism remain the same,” said CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, in a video introducing the awards. “These awards honor stories about critical issues told in new ways by journalists whose reporting has an impact at home and around the world.”

See the full list of award recipients here, and watch our winning films below. Congratulations to all.

“FRONTLINE: The Interrupters”

WGBH, Kartemquin Films, Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz The film follows a group of former gang members — who call themselves violence interrupters — on the front lines of inner-city violence, and profiles their efforts to combat it with dignity. Shot over a year, filmmakers Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz captured the streets of Chicago during a period of violence that drew national attention.

“FRONTLINE: Opium Brides”

WGBH, Clover Films & Najibullah Quraishi Reporter Najibullah Quraishi uncovers a terrible consequence of the Afghan government’s war on opium production: Rural families, unable to repay loans once the government destroys their poppy crops, are forced to surrender their children to drug traffickers to settle the debt. The film, which interviews poppy farmers, asks how many more children will be traded to traffickers — and what can be done to stop it?