Winners Announced For Doc Categories At 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) tonight announced the winners of the Documentary categories at the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, held at the Palladium Times Square in New York City. The evening was hosted by Negin Farsad, comedian, filmmaker, and writer.

Jon Else, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and director, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking contributions to the craft of nonfiction storytelling. The award was presented by Carrie Lozano, President and CEO of ITVS.

The ceremony featured presenters from across the documentary filmmaking community, including: Muta’Ali (MoviePass, MovieCrash), Joe Berlinger (Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial), Lisa Cortés (The Space Race), Gabriela Cowperthwaite (The Grab), and Barak Goodman (Kissinger).

The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards are presented in two separate ceremonies:

• News categories were honored last night.

• Documentary categories were celebrated tonight.

Both ceremonies were live-streamed at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and are now available for on-demand viewing via the platform and The Emmys® apps.

“The talents of our journalistic and documentary communities have profoundly shaped our culture and nation,” said Terry O’Reilly, Chairman of NATAS. “In the face of evolving societal landscapes, their unwavering dedication to truth and storytelling has illuminated critical issues, fostered crucial conversations, and empowered the public.”

Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS, added: “These honorees are leaders in bringing truth to our nation’s screens—through fearless journalism and powerful documentary storytelling. Their work sets the standard for excellence in the field. We are particularly proud to recognize the extraordinary career of Jon Else and our 2025 class of Gold & Silver Circle inductees.”

The Gold and Silver Circle is a society honoring members of the television and wider broadcasting community who have made an enduring contribution to the industry. These honorees are an elite group of professionals who have made significant contributions to television for 50 and 25 years, respectively.

GOLD CIRCLE – 2025 DOCUMENTARY INDUCTEES:

• Michael Kirk (Filmmaker, PBS Frontline and Kirk Documentary Group)

• Gordon Quinn (Filmmaker, Kartemquin Films)

• Marcia Smith (Filmmaker, Firelight Media)

SILVER CIRCLE – 2025 DOCUMENTARY INDUCTEES:

• Gemma Cubero del Barrio (Producer, Director & Writer, PBS)

• Aljernon Tunsil (Editor, PBS and Firelight Films)

The 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards honor programming originally released in calendar year 2024, selected from more than 2,200 submissions and judged by a panel of 980 peer professionals from across the news and documentary industry.

This year’s ceremony was produced by NATAS with Lisa Armstrong and Adam Sharp serving as Executive Producers, and Amy Schmelzer as News & Documentary Administration. The program was directed by John D’Incecco.

For a full list of winners, view the attachment below or visit theemmys.tv. Programming can be streamed on Watch.TheEmmys.TV and through The Emmys® apps on iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV, Roku, and Samsung Smart TV.

Voting was tabulated by independent accounting firm Lutz & Carr, LLP.