ABC, 'Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller' Lead - 𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓮 24

ABC News led the 47th annual News Emmys with eight wins, including the top prize for outstanding live news program — the fourth consecutive victory for “ABC World News Tonight With David Muir.” But coming on strong was a Disney sibling: Nat Geo, which won seven News Emmys thanks to “Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller,” which won all of those prizes for the channel.

“Trafficked” led all series with those seven wins, followed by Al Jazeera International’s “Fault Lines,” which won three. Also having a good night was CNN, which landed four News Emmys, including outstanding recorded news program for “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.”

As for “Trafficked,” the wins are bittersweet, as the show has now ended its run. But its bevy of wins included episodes including “Brides for Sale,” “Black Market Love,” “Scam City,” “Shark Hunters,” “Underground Street Racing” and “The Tranq Dope Underground.”

And among firsts, ABC News Live landed three of ABC News’ eight wins — the most ever for the streaming news channel. Also during the evening, Scott Pelley accepted “60 Minutes” and CBS News’s trophy for Outstanding Hard News Report: Short Form for “The War in Gaza,” and applauded his former “60 Minutes” colleague Sharyn Alfonsi. ABC’s Debra OConnell presented this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to ABC’s chief Global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz.

The News & Documentary Emmys were divided between news, hosted by comedian and CNN’s “Have I Got News For You” host Amber Ruffin on Wednesday, May 27, while fellow “Have I Got News For You” star Michael Ian Black is set to host the documentary categories on Thursday, May 28.

Presenters at the News Emmys included Lisa Abramowicz (Bloomberg), Jason Bellini (Scripps News), Jim Cantore (Weather Channel), Linsey Davis (ABC News), Jeremy Diamond (CNN), Johnny Harris (YouTube), Vanessa Hauc (Noticias Telemundo), Hallie Jackson (NBC News), Areva Martin (CNN, PBS), Camilo Montoya-Galvez (CBS News), Bill Owens (“60 Minutes”), Scott Pelley (CBS News), Jen Psaki (MS Now), Jorge Ramos (YouTube), Maria Rozman (Spectrum Noticias) and Natasha Zouves (NewsNation).

This repped the second night of a three-evening Emmypalooza at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York. Ruffin’s and Black’s “Have I Got News For You” colleague Roy Wood Jr. hosted the Sports Emmys on Tuesday.

This year’s News & Documentary Emmys nominees came from from more than 2000 submissions, with eligible programs that that originally premiered sometime during 2025. More than 900 peer professionals chose the nominees.

Among Wednesday’s highlights: Student journalist Santiago Campos, a senior from Washington, D.C.’s District of Columbia International School, wowed the News Emmys crowd on Wednesday night by calling out changes at CBS News as he accepted this year’s Mike Wallace Memorial Scholarship — named after the legendary CBS journo.

“When the revolutionary generation put pen to parchment 250 years ago, they chose to align themselves to a vision of public freedom reinforced a decade later by the First Amendment. Generations of writers, publishers and broadcasters have rightly joined together to push back ever since,” said NATAS president/CEO Adam Sharp. “Journalists are torchbearers for the public right to know and to speak.”

Here are this year’s News Emmy nominees and winners:

Outstanding Live News Program

WINNER: ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN Worldwide)
Good Morning America (ABC News)
The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN Worldwide)
NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas (NBC News)
Today Show (NBC News)

Outstanding Recorded News Program

ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS News)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
WINNER: The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Live Breaking News Coverage

American Eagle Helicopter Crash Morning After — Today Show (NBC News)
Charlie Kirk Assassination (CBS News)
Gaza Peace Deal & Israeli Hostage Release — NBC News Special Report (NBC News)
New Orleans Terror Attack — NBC News Special Report (NBC News)
WINNER: U.S. Army’s Grand Military Parade — ABC News Special Report (ABC News)

Outstanding Extended Breaking News Coverage

Catastrophic Fires — PBS News Hour (PBS News)
Deadly Texas Flash Floods — CNN Worldwide (CNN Worldwide)
Fire Emergency in Southern California — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
WINNER: The Fires — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
LA Wildfires (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Live News Special

100 Días de Trump (Noticias Telemundo)
100 Days of Trump — A Townhall with Forced Out Federal Workers (MSNBC)
WINNER: 20/20 & ABC World News Tonight — American Catastrophe: LA Burning (ABC News)
ABC News Special Report — The Conclave (ABC News)
Good Night, and Good Luck — Truth and Power (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Recorded News Special

ABC News Live — The Struggle For Food Assistance (ABC News)
WINNER: ABC News Live/ABC News Studios — The Children of Gaza (ABC News)
Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years After the Storm (Rock’n Robin Productions, ABC News Studios)
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper — The United States vs. Harvard (CNN Worldwide)
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper — LA Burning (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Continuing Coverage: Short Form

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond Covers Gaza’s Starvation Crisis (CNN Worldwide)
Cuts & Consequences — PBS News Hour (PBS News)
WINNER: Earthquake in Myanmar (BBC News)
Fred Pleitgen Reports from Inside Iran (CNN Worldwide)
Haiti: Inside the Collapse — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)

Outstanding Continuing Coverage: Long Form

WINNER: Along the Green Line (The Guardian)
The First 100 Days Compilation — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
Gaza War (The New York Times)
Immigration Crackdown (ABC News)
The Trump Administration Claims No One Has Died Due to US Aid Cuts (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Light Feature: Short Form

How Activists Fought for Rights for People With Disabilities (Retro Report)
The Long Train Ride Home: Remembering Emmett Till — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
Remembering Captain Pitts — ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
Revisiting The Voting Rights Act — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
View From the Floor — The New York Times Op-Docs (View From the Floor, LLC)
WINNER: What Japan’s Atom Bomb Survivors Have Taught Us (Retro Report)

Outstanding Light Feature: Long Form

America’s Care Crisis — ABC News Live (ABC News)
I Took Bernie Into Deep Trump Country. Can He Win Them Over? (More Perfect Union)
WINNER: Operation Babylift: The 50 Year Journey — 20/20 & ABC News Live (ABC News)
The Sherpas of Everest — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
The Simril(l)s: A Family in Black and White — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Hard News Report: Short Form

California Burning — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
How Traffickers Deep in the Sahara Are Extorting Ransom Payments from Refugees’ Families (CNN Worldwide)
Pregnant and Brain Dead — ABC News Nightline (ABC News)
The Scope of the Devastation — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
Two Nights With the Cartel — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
WINNER: The War in Gaza — 60 Minutes (CBS News)

Outstanding Hard News Report: Long Form

Battle For Tibet (Frontline | PBS)
WINNER: Chasing a Ghost: The Search for Austin Tice (CNN Worldwide)
The Hidden Homeless — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
Million Dollar Highway Heists — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
The Rise of Germany’s New Right (Frontline | PBS)

Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Short Form

Death and Hunger: The Fate of Gaza’s Aid Seekers — CNN: Investigates (CNN Worldwide)
WINNER: DOGE Package (The New York Times)
ICE Operations Series — CNN: Investigates (CNN Worldwide)
Investigation: How the Tate Brothers Were Freed From Romania (The New York Times)
Poisoned: Fentanyl’s Child Victims (Scripps News)
Prison System in Crisis — Hallie Jackson Now (NBC News)

Outstanding Investigative Coverage: Long Form

Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
The President’s Pardon — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
The Prisoners — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
WINNER: Strike On Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])
We Had 400 People Shop for Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You. (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis

Burn Order Community Event — The Rachel Maddow Show (MS Now)
WINNER: Deport Them All: Who’s to Blame for Springfield’s Immigrant Crisis? (More Perfect Union)
The History of Slavery: A Debate & Rebuttal — NewsNight with Abby Phillip (CNN Worldwide)
They Were the Watchdogs (The New York Times Opinion)
Truth Under Fire — Breaking the Deadlock (GBH [Room 608 Inc. | Andrew Lack])
Washington Week with The Atlantic — Washington Week (PBS News)
We Followed the Rules. ICE Jailed Us Anyway (The New York Times Opinion)

Outstanding Interview: Short Form

WINNER: CNN’s Jeremy Diamond Presses Hamas Official on Suffering in Gaza (CNN Worldwide)
Elon Musk — CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS News)
Interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi (NBC News)
Interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — Meet the Press (NBC News)
Pennsylvania Governor Speaks Out After Arson Attack — Good Morning America (ABC News)
So I Raped You — Nightline (ABC News)

Outstanding Interview: Long Form

Epstein Survivors Speak Out — ABC News Live (ABC News)
WINNER: Eric Dane Speaks (ABC News [ABC News Studios])
Finland’s President on Trump, Resilience and Putin’s Threat — Leaders with Francine Lacqua (Bloomberg Originals)
Lori Vallow Daybell: The Jailhouse Interview (Dateline NBC)
War or Peace: The Zelenskyy Interview — ABC News Live and This Week with George Stephanopoulos (ABC News)
Why Young Men Don’t Like the Democrats (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding War or Violent Conflict Coverage

The Disappearance of Dr. Abu Safiya — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Filmed In Gaza (NBC News)
WINNER: Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
The Killing Field — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Syria After Assad (Frontline | PBS)

Outstanding Science & Tech Coverage

AI Chatbots Sent Him Spiraling. Then He Contacted Me (More Perfect Union)
Character AI — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
Inside OpenAI’s Stargate Megafactory with Sam Altman — The Circuit with Emily Chang (Bloomberg Originals)
Robot War — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)
WINNER: Scam City — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
The Wired Rainforest — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Climate, Environment or Weather Coverage

Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages (Frontline | PBS [The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University])
Crying Glacier — The New York Times Op-Docs (El Flamingo GMBH)
Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning (Frontline | PBS [NPR])
Last Lands — ABC News Live (ABC News)
WINNER: Shark Hunters — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
We Went to the Town Elon Musk Is Poisoning (More Perfect Union)

Outstanding Health or Medical Coverage

Drone War Medics — In the Shadows with Jason Bellini (Scripps News)
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Pain: It Doesn’t Have to Hurt — CNN Health (CNN Worldwide)
The Last Lifeline — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Switched Before Birth — Impact x Nightline (ABC News Studios | Hulu)
WINNER: The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
You Might Have Already Fallen for MAHA’s Conspiracy Theories (The New York Times Opinion)

Outstanding Arts, Culture or Entertainment Coverage

Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers (ABC News Studios)
K-Pop: A Star is Made — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
No Laughing Matter: Free Speech Under Attack — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
Selena: Beyond the Headlines — Impact x Nightline (ABC News Studios | Hulu)
WINNER: Underground Street Racing — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Why Concert Tickets Are So Expensive — and Who’s to Blame? — So Expensive (Business Insider)

Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Coverage

Exposing the Dark Side of America’s AI Data Center Explosion — View From Above (Business Insider)
Goodbye, Price Tags. Hello, Dynamic Pricing (The New York Times Opinion)
The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Gutted — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
The Price of Milk: Immigrants Behind American Dairy — CBS Reports (CBS News)
WINNER: The Zombie Debts Making Wall Street Rich — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)

Outstanding Social Issue Coverage

WINNER (TIE): Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
WINNER (TIE): Crackdown: Deported Under Trump — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Fighting to Serve (Evident Media)
Justice Defenders: Change Inside Prison — The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Worldwide)
Murder Has Two Faces (ABC News Studios [Blue Ant Media | Cortes Filmworks])
The Rise of America’s ICE Towns (Bloomberg Originals)

Outstanding True Crime Coverage

Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
The Philippines Mayor With a Dark Secret — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)
Return to the Lake — Dateline NBC (NBC News)
Scamanda (ABC News Studios [Pilgrim Media Group | Lionsgate Alternative Television])
WINNER: Wicked Game: Devil in the Desert (ABC News Studios)

Technical Excellence

CBS Evening News (CBS News)
CNN’s The Fourth in America (CNN Worldwide)
CNN’s New Year’s Eve Coverage (CNN Worldwide)
WINNER: Live from the Southern California Fires — ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC News)
Presidential Inauguration Pool Feed (NBC News)

Outstanding Emerging News Journalist

Camilo Montoya Galvez (CBS News)
WINNER: Hanako Montgomery (CNN Worldwide)
Jay O’Brien (ABC News)
Katie Tutrone (The Weather Channel)

Outstanding Journalist in Spanish Language

Marlene Guzmán (Noticias Telemundo)
WINNER: Victor Valles Mata (TelevisaUnivision)
Francisco Fajardo Nungaray (Noticias Telemundo)
Jorge Ramos (Tres Alebrijes LLC)

Outstanding News Program in Spanish

Al Rojo Vivo (Telemundo)
WINNER: Jorge Ramos: Así Veo las Cosas — I’m Back (Tres Alebrijes LLC)
Noticiero Univision (TelevisaUnivision)
PrimerImpacto (TelevisaUnivision)
Spectrum Noticias Todo el Día — Facts 24/7 (Spectrum Noticias)

Outstanding Breaking News Story in Spanish

100 Días de Trump (Noticias Telemundo)
California en Llamas (TelevisaUnivision)
WINNER: Cobertura de los Incendios en Los Angeles — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
From The Ground: Protests Over Immigration Raids — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
Nuestra América, Todas las Caras (TelevisaUnivision)

Outstanding Investigative News Coverage in Spanish

Alcatraz de los Caimanes: Campo de Prisioneros (TelevisaUnivision)
Luigi Mangione: Anatomy of a Crime — Noticiero Univision (Univision)
Muerte en la Montaña de Siete Colores — Bloomberg Investigates (Bloomberg Originals)
Planeta Tierra – Microplásticos: La Amenaza Invisible — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
WINNER: Sobreviviendo al CECOT (ProPublica | The Texas Tribune [ProPublica | The Texas Tribune | Alianza Rebelde Investiga | Cazadores de Fake News])

Outstanding Feature News Story in Spanish

De Ningún Lado — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
WINNER: Estatus: Venezolano (ProPublica | Frontline [ProPublica | Frontline])
Intersex: Neither Male nor Female — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)
Michoacán: Vivir Entre Explosivos Terrestres y Aéreos — N+ Despierta/Univision-Vix (VIX)
Talento Desperdiciado — Noticias Telemundo con Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo)

Outstanding Writing: News

Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
WINNER: Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
The Long Train Ride Home: Remembering Emmett Till — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
Revisiting the Voting Rights Act — ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis (ABC News)
The Trump Administration Claims No One Has Died Due to US Aid Cuts (CNN Worldwide)

Outstanding Research: News

Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
WINNER: Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Chasing a Ghost: The Search for Austin Tice (CNN Worldwide)
The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Operation Babylift: The 50 Year Journey — 20/20 & ABC News Live (ABC News)
The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Direction: News

WINNER: Black Market Love — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Brides for Sale — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Can the Southern Baptist Convention Survive Without Women Pastors? — Hold the Line (The New Yorker [Outerboro Films])
Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Will Reeve: Finding My Father (ABC News Studios)

Outstanding Video Journalism: News

WINNER: Filmed in Gaza (NBC News)
Flight of the Monarchs — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
The Last Lifeline — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])
The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Editing: News

The Bus on Route 62 — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
Cartel USA — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
WINNER: Filmed in Gaza (NBC News)
Kids Under Fire — Fault Lines (Al Jazeera International USA)
Operation Return to Sender (Evident Media | CalMatters | Bellingcat)
The Sherpas of Everest — 60 Minutes (CBS News)
Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (Frontline | PBS [The Washington Post | Bellingcat | Evident Media])

Outstanding Graphic Design: News

The Hidden Cost of South Sudan’s Oil Boom (Bloomberg Originals)
How China Is Beating India in Its Own Backyard (Bloomberg Originals)
WINNER: Johnny Harris (Newpress)
One Spark Away: The 2025 LA Wildfires (The Weather Channel)
Winter Storm VR — Noticias Telemundo Ahora (Telemundo)

Outstanding Cold Open or Title Sequence: News

Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers (ABC News Studios)
The Great American Rehab Scam — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (ABC News Studios [Anchor Entertainment])
WINNER: How New Magnets Could Power the Future — Bloomberg Primer (Bloomberg Originals)
Shark Hunters — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])
The Tranq Dope Underground — Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Muck Media [National Geographic])

Outstanding Promotional Announcement: News

Constitution Preamble | Human Family | The American’s Creed — We the People Brand Campaign (MS Now [Sibling Rivalry])
Scamanda (ABC News Studios)
WINNER: The Substance and Soul of the South (AJC [Jam Entertainment])
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)
Will Reeve: Finding My Father (ABC News Studios)

Outstanding Regional News Story: Investigative

13 Investigates: High Stakes (WTHR-TV)
A Deceptive Diocese (WEWS-TV)
WINNER: Inspecting the Inspectors (KMOV-TV)
In Plane Sight: The Fix (WANF)
Reading Reset (WANF)

Outstanding Regional News Story: Breaking/Spot News

Avioneta Se Estrella Contra Residencia en Aguadilla (WLII-DT | TeleOnce)
Fuego en Fin de Año (WLII-DT | TeleOnce)
WINNER: Hurricane Francine Live Rescue (WDSU)
Ranchero Tornado (WTSP)
Wilmer-Hutchins High School Shooting (WFAA)

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