The 42nd News and Documentary Emmy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), to honor the best in American news and documentary programming in 2020. The winners were announced on two ceremonies via live-stream at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and other apps associated, the winners for the News categories were announced on September 28, 2021, while the ones for the Documentary categories were revealed on September 29, 2021.
The nominees were announced on July 27, 2021, with CBS's news magazine 60 Minutes and Vice's news program VICE News Tonight leading the nominations with 16 each while PBS was the most nominated network with 52.
Winners and nominees The nominations were announced on July 27, 2021.
News Programming Outstanding Newscast Outstanding News Special VICE News Tonight (Vice) ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (ABC) NBC Nightly News (NBC) Nightline (ABC) The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) CBS News Special: "Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line" (CBS) 20/20: "Juneteenth" (ABC) CNN Special Report: "Witness to the Pandemic" (CNN) Fareed Zakaria Special: "China's Deadly Secret" (CNN) Retro Report: "Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press" (Retro Report and VICE TV) Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Newscast Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Newsmagazine VICE News Tonight: "American Uprising" (Vice) Go There: "Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan" (CNN) Nightline: "Voices of Conviction" (ABC) Nightline: "Conspiracy in Michigan" (ABC) The Washington Post: "How a Night of Protest Turned Deadly in Kenosha" (The Washington Post) 60 Minutes: "On the Frontline" (CBS) 20/20: "Outbreak: What You Need to Know" (ABC) 20/20: "Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend" (ABC) 60 Minutes: "Counting the Vote" (CBS) 60 Minutes: "Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Cell" (CBS) Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Newscast Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Newsmagazine PBS NewsHour: "Desperate Journey" (PBS) Nightline: "Turning Point" (ABC) PBS NewsHour: "Searching for Justice" (PBS) PBS NewsHour: "Inside Venezuela" (PBS) The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: "Yemen Hunger Crisis: Made in America" (CNN) The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: "CNN Investigates China's Treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang" (CNN) VICE News Tonight: "Death and Denial: COVID in Bolsonaro's Brazil" (Vice) 20/20: "Falling From the Sky" (ABC) 20/20: "Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein" (ABC) 20/20: "American Catastrophe: How Did We Get Here?" (ABC) FRONTLINE: "Taliban Country" (PBS) FRONTLINE in partnership with The Marshall Project & Pulitzer Center: "Undocumented in the Pandemic" (PBS) Outstanding Short Feature Story in a Newscast Outstanding Long Feature Story in a Newscast VICE News: "The Kids Being Trained and Armed to Fight Mexican Cartels" (Vice) CNN Business: "Conspiracy Theorists Said She Started the Coronavirus Pandemic, Now She's Afraid for Her Life" (CNN) CNN Newsroom: "The Body Collectors" (CNN) VICE News Tonight: "Table Stakes" (Vice) VICE News Tonight: "Surviving COVID-19" (Vice) How the Police Killed Breonna Taylor (The New York Times) A Racist Attack Was Caught on Camera. Nearly 45 Years Later, It Still Stings (The New York Times) Inside One of New York's Deadliest ZIP Codes (The New York Times) The Washington Post: "Murder in Afghanistan, a Trump Pardon, and the Soldiers Left Behind" (The Washington Post) VICE News Tonight: "COVID-19: Italy's Tragedy" (Vice) Outstanding Investigative Report in a Newscast Outstanding Investigative Report in a Newsmagazine AC360: "CNN/Bellingcat Investigation into the Poisoning of Russian Opposition Leader Alexey Navalny" (CNN) CBS Evening News: "Military Sexual Assault: Norah O'Donnell Investigates' (CBS) CBS This Morning: "Toxic Legacy" (CBS) CBS This Morning: "Escaping Justice: U.S. Sex Crime Suspects Using Legal Loophole to Move to Israel" (CBS) The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: "Lekki Toll Gate Shooting Investigation" (CNN) VICE News Tonight: "Unreleased Footage Gives an Inside Look at the Night Breonna Taylor Died" (Vice) FRONTLINE in partnership with The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: "The Luanda Leaks" (PBS) 48 Hours: "Find Yura: Manhunt on the Dark Web" (CBS) 60 Minutes: "Excited Delirium" (CBS) 60 Minutes: "Opioid Playbook" (CBS) Outstanding Breaking News Coverage Outstanding Feature Story in a Newsmagazine The Death of George Floyd (CNN) MSNBC Live: "Steve Kornacki Reports - Election 2020" (MSNBC) Real America with Jorge Ramos: "Eye of the Hurricane" (Univision) The Coronavirus Outbreak in China (CNN) Trump's Photo-Op at St. John's Church (CNN) Investigations by VICE: "Disgrace" (Hulu) 60 Minutes: "Talking to the Past" (CBS) Fringe Nation: "Legacy of the KKK" (Vice) FRONTLINE: "Love, Life & the Virus" (PBS) On Assignment with Richard Engel: "Enemy of the State" (MSNBC) Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis Outstanding News Analysis: Editorial and Opinion Fareed Zakaria Special: "How the World Sees America" (CNN) Face the Nation: "US & Iran on the Brink" (CBS) Face the Nation: "Facing the Pandemic" (CBS) The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell: "A Discussion with Barack Obama: "A Promised Land"" (MSNBC) This Week with George Stephanopoulos: "Your Voice Your Vote" (ABC) Heartache in the Hot Zone: The Front Line Against COVID-19 (The New York Times) If I Caught the Coronavirus, Would You Want Me Making Your Next Meal? (The New York Times) How the U.S. Bungled the Plague (The New York Times) How Was My Son Ahmaud Arbery's Murder Not a Hate Crime? (The New York Times) VICE News Tonight: "Black, Pissed, and Patriotic" (Vice) Outstanding Live Interview Outstanding Edited Interview NBC News Specials: Trump Town Hall (NBC) CNN Newsroom: "Anderson Cooper Presses Las Vegas Mayor" (CNN) CNN Newsroom: "Anderson Cooper Grills Mike Lindell of MyPillow" (CNN) CNN Tonight: "Sara Sidner Connects Floyd Family with Minneapolis Police Chief" (CNN) State of the Union: "Dana Bash Presses Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on School Reopenings" (CNN) The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer: "Wolf Blitzer interviews Attorney General Bill Barr" (CNN) HBO Documentary Films: "Axios: President Donald J. Trump--an interview" (HBO) 60 Minutes: "The Republican Ticket" (CBS) ABC News: "Their Painful Bond- Black Mothers Speak Out Together on Their Unimaginable Loss" (ABC) ABC News: "Judge Esther Salas: A Mother's Journey" (ABC) The Rachel Maddow Show: "The Lev Parnas Interview" (MSNBC) Outstanding Science, Technology or Environmental Coverage Outstanding Health or Medical Coverage E-ternal: A Tech Quest to 'Live' Forever (Wall Street Journal) AC360: "Pandemic: How a Virus Changed the World in 1918" (CNN) CNN Special Report: "Bats: The Mystery Behind Covid-19" (CNN) VICE News Tonight: "A Climate for Locusts" (Vice) VICE News Tonight: "Longest Oil Spill" (Vice) Vox Atlas: "Why Scientists Are So Worried About This Glacier" (Vox) 20/20: "The Shot: Race for the Vaccine" (ABC) 60 Minutes: "Short Supply" (CBS) CNN Worldwide COVID-19 Coverage (CNN) PBS NewsHour: "Best Health Care?" (PBS) The Weekly: "My Blood" (FX) Outstanding Arts, Culture or Entertainment Coverage Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Coverage World News Tonight with David Muir and Nightline: "The Children of Auschwitz" (ABC) 60 Minutes: "Joaquin Phoenix" (CBS) ABC News Prime: "Diaspora Divide" (ABC) Dominic Fike, at First (The New York Times) Opinion Video: "Cause of Life" (The New York Times) Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: "Fairway to Freedom: The Story of Valentino Dixon" (HBO) Rescuing Her Father From an Assisted Living Facility in the Coronavirus Epicenter (ProPublica) 60 Minutes: "Talent on the Spectrum" (CBS) CBS Sunday Morning: "Not So Plain" (CBS) Fault Lines: "Virus on the Poultry Line" (Al Jazeera International USA) New Day: "A Family's Struggle as Pandemic Worsens Food Insecurity" (CNN) VICE Versa: "Between Musk and Mars" (Vice)
Spanish Language Programming Outstanding Newscast or News Magazine in Spanish Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in Spanish Noticias Telemundo 11:35 (Telemundo) Aquí y Ahora (Univision) Noticias Telemundo Emergencia Coronavirus Ultima Hora (Telemundo) Noticiero Telemundo (Telemundo) Noticiero Univision (Univision) Noticiero Telemundo: "La Represión de Trump" (Telemundo) Al Punto: "El país en llamas" (Univision) Crisis del COVID-19 en Ecuador (CNN en Español) Noticiero Telemundo: "Coronavirus: un país en alerta" (Telemundo) Noticiero Univision: "Protestas por George Floyd" (Univision) Primer Impacto: "George Floyd Coverage" (Univision) Outstanding Investigative Journalism in Spanish Outstanding Feature Story in Spanish Aquí y Ahora: "Inundados en Plástico" (Univision) Aquí y Ahora: "Captura y Liberación de un Intocable" (Univision) Aquí y Ahora: "Desaparecidos de la Frontera" (Univision) Docufilms: "Nisman: 5 Años de Preguntas" (CNN en Español) En La Línea: México (Discovery Networks Latin America / US Hispanic) Op-Docs: "Atencion! Murderer Next Door" (The New York Times) Univision Noticias Digital: "El trauma, el miedo y la desesperanza de quienes esperan su asilo atrapados en México" (Univision) Univision Noticias Digital: "California contra la bandera antiinmigrante de Trump" (Univision) VICE News Tonight: "Heridos, Presos, o Muertos: Las Consecuencias de Protestar en Venezuela" (Vice) VICE News Tonight: "El precio de protestar en Chile" (Vice) Outstanding Interview in Spanish Camilo: "Gerardo Gaya: Padre coraje a la mexicana" (CNN en Español) Al Punto: "Entrevista a la Jueza Sonia Sotomayor" (Univision) Conclusiones: "Interview with Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López" (CNN) Primer Impacto: "El Hijo de la Madrina Parte 1 y 2" (Univision) Un Nuevo Día: "Entrevista en vivo con el Dr. Fauci (Live interview with Dr. Fauci)" (Telemundo)
Documentary Programming Best Documentary Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary POV: "Advocate" (PBS) Athlete A (Netflix) Born to Be (VOD) FRONTLINE: "Once Upon a Time in Iraq" (PBS) Independent Lens: "Belly of the Beast" (PBS) The Trade (Showtime) Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (PBS) CNN Films: "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice" (CNN) Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix) POV: "Our Time Machine" (PBS) The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (Peacock) Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary Outstanding Social Issue Documentary HBO Documentary Films: "Stockton on My Mind" (HBO) Father Soldier Son (Netflix) FRONTLINE: "United States of Conspiracy" (PBS) FRONTLINE: "Inside Italy's COVID War" (PBS) Independent Lens: "Belly of the Beast" (PBS) The Trade (Showtime) POV: "The Rescue List" (PBS) Independent Lens: "Rewind" (PBS) Not Done: Women Remaking America (PBS) This Ain't Normal (VOD) With Drawn Arms (Starz) Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary Kingdom of Silence (Showtime) POV: "Advocate" (PBS) POV: "Softie" (PBS) The Perfect Weapon (HBO) The Way I See It (MSNBC) FRONTLINE: "Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos" (PBS) CNN Films: "Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer" (CNN) FRONTLINE in partnership with Financial Times: "Opioids, Inc." (PBS) 31 Days in March: The Month Coronavirus Unraveled American Business (The Wall Street Journal) Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller: "Scams" (National Geographic) VOCES: "Building the American Dream" (PBS) Outstanding Investigative Documentary Outstanding Historical Documentary Athlete A (Netflix) Finding Yingying (Pluto TV) FRONTLINE: "Return From ISIS" (PBS) HBO Documentary Films: "Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America's Elections" (HBO) HBO Documentary Films: "Agents of Chaos" (HBO) FRONTLINE: "Once Upon a Time in Iraq" (PBS) Challenger: The Final Flight (Netflix) CNN Films: "John Lewis: Good Trouble" (CNN)