SEATTLE, WA – March 15, 2007 – KING 5 has been honored with two Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.  The USC Annenberg School of Communication named KING 5 the outstanding Local Broadcast Station in the country for its overall coverage of the 2006 campaign.  Reporter Robert Mak and producer Mike Cate won their third Cronkite award for Individual Achievement at a Local Station.

KING 5 was recognized for having a full-time political unit and offering more than 100 minutes of local political coverage each week.  Judges said that KING 5 reporters “dug deep into issues, providing viewers with clear explanations that would help them understand their choices at the polls.  The Ad Watch reporting was especially good, offering not only a critique of the ad, but substantive information about the issues.”  They also recognized “the terrific talents of the Mak/Cate reporting team that make KING 5 the station to beat for quality political coverage.”

“Looking back, the 2006 election was charged with a lot of energy and significant outcomes,” said Ray Heacox, president and general manager of KING 5, KONG 6/16 and NWCN. “I commend our News team for capturing the nuances of the races and dissecting the details for our viewers.”

The Cronkite competition is conducted nationally, every two years.  Mak and Cate won individual Cronkites in 2000 and 2004, and KING 5 News won the Local Station award in 2002. Judges evaluated entries for work covering the 2006 elections and gave special consideration to in-depth, issue-focused reporting that informed viewers about their electoral choices, and that helped them understand ballot issues, the candidates involved and how electoral choices will affect their lives.

“The Cronkite Award winners demonstrate that television can use its unparalleled storytelling skills to cover politics and campaigns in ways that respect its audience and inform our citizens,” said Martin Kaplan, director of the USC Annenberg School’s Norman Lear Center, which administers the awards.