NEW YORK – The Telly Awards Judging Council announced today Marcus Harun’s documentary “Essential Journalists: How Coronavirus Changed TV News” has been honored in the Online News category in the 42nd Annual Telly Awards. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by a group of leading video and television experts from some of the most prestigious companies in entertainment, publishing, and emerging technology, including Netflix, A&E Networks, Hearst Media, and ESPN Films.
“Essential Journalists” goes behind-the-scenes with 34 news reporters from around the U.S. to explore the challenges they overcame to deliver vital information during a global pandemic. The independent film from executive producer Marcus Harun was selected as a bronze winner in the online General-News/News Feature category at the 2021 Telly Awards.
“This is a year for the history books,” Harun said. “Journalists have been working harder than ever to provide lifesaving news, while risking their life to go to work. I’m thankful that this effort has been recognized and I’m glad even more audiences will get to see this important story.”
Other bronze winners selected along with Harun’s short film in the same category include Stephen Colbert, PBS NewsHour, Comcast, and CBS News.
“It’s mind-blowing to me that this film I created remotely, by myself in my New York apartment, during quarantine was honored in the same category as the hilarious Stephen Colbert, and well-known, national news organizations,” Harun said. “I’m grateful to the Telly Awards, my family, and the reporters who took time to talk to me for the documentary.”
Quintus Studios licensed the 18-minute film from Harun Media and it is available for streaming on the Quintus Studios’ “Free Documentary” YouTube channel, with more than 1.6 million subscribers.
The film debuted to the public at EssentialJournalists.com in Oct. 2020.
“With a number of high-caliber entries submitted, this year’s Telly Awards entrants truly represented the most innovative stories being told across all screens,” Telly Awards Executive Director Sabrina Dridje said. “In the face of a year like no other, the visual storytelling community has continued to defy the limitations of our new world. This year’s submissions doubled down on what we already know about the industry. Creativity cannot be stopped. Collaboration will always prevail. New ideas and stories will always find a way to break through to an audience.”
Additional 2021 winners include Jennifer Garner, Netflix, Microsoft, Condé Nast, HBO Latin America, Nickelodeon, BET Digital, Adobe, Playstation, and BBC Global News. The award winners were selected among more than 12,000 entries from top video content producers.
The full list of the 42nd Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners.
Contact
For inquiries: marcus@harun.me or 203-823-8172
“Essential Journalists” Synopsis
Armed with 6-foot microphone poles, mask-clad reporters are filming interviews through windows to tell the stories of their communities, while worrying what illness they may bring back to their families. National news producer Marcus Harun remotely interviews dozens of journalists from across the country about how the coronavirus impacted their jobs and the frightening reality of heading out into the danger zone to report vital information to the public. Some of the country’s most-watched news programs are being broadcast out of the anchor’s basements as the industry adopted work-from-home plans for the first time. At the national level, a CNN anchor continued to host his show while suffering from the virus, and CBS lost a producer to COVID-19. In local news, producers grapple with limited resources to telecommute and anchors struggle to babysit their children during live newscasts. The film is available for streaming online at EssentialJournalists.com.
About Marcus Harun
Marcus Harun is a journalist with experience working in ten newsrooms and is the CEO of Harun Media. He’s a news producer at MSNBC in New York, where he produces interviews with presidential candidates and congressional leaders and has written breaking news scripts for nearly every MSNBC anchor including Brian Williams, Craig Melvin, Andrea Mitchell, Yasmin Vossoughian, and Alicia Menendez. Before moving to New York, he worked in local news for five years. As Executive Producer of FOX Connecticut’s 7-hour morning show, he led a team of 25 reporters, anchors and producers and grew ratings 200% in one year. He earned an MBA and a BA in journalism from Quinnipiac University. He grew up in Hamden, CT and now lives in New Rochelle, NY with his wife, Rabiah.
About The Telly Awards
The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all screens. Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks, reflective of the multiscreen industry The Telly Awards celebrates. Partners of The Telly Awards include Ghetto Film School, We Are Parable, LAPPG, NAB, Stash, Storyhunter, NYWIFT, Production Hub, IFP and Social Media Week.
