Belo8's Harris adds to trophy case
12/18/07 10:46 AM
By ED BARK
Veteran Belo8 reporter Byron Harris has won a prestigious Alfred I. duPont Columbia University award, his third, for a series of Dateline NBC investigations titled "Television Justice."
Harris questioned both the effectiveness and ethics of the program's "To Catch a Predator" stings, one of which originated in Murphy, TX.
Jurors lauded Harris for "an old-fashioned, gum-shoe investigation in the era of Internet sex and reality television, conducted with restraint and methodical reporting."
One overriding question remains: Would Harris and WFAA-TV (Channel 8), an ABC affiliate, have proceeded with such zeal if the program were called Dateline ABC ? To his credit, Harris answered this question as best he could in an earlier interview with unclebarky.com.
Oddly enough, Dateline also won a duPont Tuesday for a story titled "The Education of Mrs. Groves."
Belo-owned TV stations in Houston (KHOU-TV) and St. Louis (KMOV-TV) likewise were honored among 13 recipients.
Awards will be presented on Jan. 16th.