The Lifetime Achievement Emmys are a class of

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s presented in recognition of the significant lifetime achievements of an individual in the American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

industry. They are analogous to other awards based on cumulative achievement given out in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the context of numerous

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

fields. Winners who have been presented the Lifetime Achievement Emmy in the context of the News & Documentary Emmys, earning the citations due to their journalistic efforts, include

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...

Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...

Andrea Mitchell Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946) is an American television journalist, anchor and commentator for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C. She is NBC News' chief foreign affairs & chief Washington correspondent, reporting on the 2008 presid ...

, and

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

. Notable instances involving the award include how performer

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...

, an actor known for works decided to children such as ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...

'', stopped the regular chain of events at the

24th Daytime Emmy Awards The 24th Daytime Emmy Awards were held on May 21, 1997, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. to commemorate excellence in daytime programming from the previous year (1996). The Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Fred Rogers (Mr. Rog ...

in 1997 by successfully commanding the audience to give a

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...

of commemorative thankfulness. Rogers additionally got a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

before his comments, in which he told the crowd "may God be with you".

History

Separate Lifetime Achievement Emmys are given out at the

Daytime Emmys The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

, the Sports Emmys (known as the

Sports Lifetime Achievement Award The Sports Lifetime Achievement Award is a special award given away each year at the Sports Emmy Awards. It was first given away in 1989. It is always announced days before the nominations are. List of recipients *1989: Jim McKay *1990: Lindsey N ...

), the News & Documentary Emmys, and the

Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards The Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, or Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Primetime Engineering Emmys are presented by ...

(known as the Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award), among other Emmy ceremonies. The first Emmy Awards ceremony in history was held on January 25, 1949, taking place at the

Hollywood Athletic Club The Hollywood Athletic Club is an office building and event space in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Since it was built in 1924, it has had a varied history as a health club, bar, music venue, and billiard room. It is located on Sunset ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Details

Winners who have been presented the Lifetime Achievement Emmy at the News & Documentary Emmys for their journalistic efforts include

, and

. For his role behind the scenes, mass media centric business magnate

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

won the award in 2015. "There is no man that has made a bigger or more long-lasting impact on the world of television news than Ted Turner," Bob Mauro, the president of the

National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

(NATAS), remarked.

Notable winners

Levar_Burton,_Disney_Social_Media_Moms_Conference_2014,_1

British broadcaster

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

, who conducted the interviews with former President Richard Nixon that received dramatization in the 2008 Oscar-nominated film '' Frost/Nixon'', received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy at the International Emmys in 2009. Entertainment figures who have received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy at the Daytime Emmys include

Judy Sheindlin Judith Susan Sheindlin (''née'' Blum; born October 21, 1942), known professionally as Judge Judy, is an American court show arbitrator, media personality, television producer, author, women's advancement philanthropist and former prosecutor an ...

, the central figure of ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudi ...

'', and John Clarke, a veteran film and television actor best known for starring on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' for thirty-seven years. Receiving the award in 1997, performer

of programs decided to children such as ''

'' delivered one of the most notable moments in an Emmy acceptance speech during the

, successfully commanding the audience to give a

of commemorative thankfulness. Rogers got a

before his comments, in which he told the crowd "may God be with you". In 2020, sports reporter

Lesley Visser Lesley Candace Visser (born September 11, 1953) is an American sportscaster, television and radio personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the first female NFL analyst on TV, and the only sportscaster in history who has worked on Final Four, ...

became the first woman to be awarded the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, for her pioneering work in the generally male-dominated industry of

sports television The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...

. "To be a pioneer at nearly every juncture... isn’t easy despite how Lesley Visser makes it look," Justine Gubar, the Executive Director of the Sports Emmy Awards, publicly remarked, while adding that Visser had become an "unparalleled role model and mentor to countless up-and-coming journalists". In 2022, actor

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...

became the first person to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

. He will be presented with his award at the inaugural

Children's and Family Emmy Awards The Children's and Family Emmy Awards, or Children's and Family Emmys, are a part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts a ...

on December 11, 2022. Burton's efforts to promote

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

in the United States has taken over two decades and involved multiple productions such as the television series ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 3 ...

''; the performer has not only read books to young people but also explained current events to them and otherwise worked to educate them.

References

{{Daytime Emmy Award Lifetime Achievement Emmy Awards Lifetime achievement awards

History

Details

Notable winners

See also

References