The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is announcing that W. Kamau Bell, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning host, filmmaker, and stand-up comedian will host the 45th Annual Documentary Emmy® Awards on September 26. Last year, Bell earned a Children’s & Family Emmy Award for “Outstanding Non-Fiction Program” for 1000% Me: the Growing Up Mixed. NATAS also administers CAFE.
“When we met Kamau at the Children’s and Family Emmys with his daughters Samaiyah and Juno, we knew he’d be a compelling and entertaining host,” said Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS. “His sensitivity and expertise is a perfect fit, especially for the documentary community.”
In addition to announcing winners in 65 news and documentary-related Emmy Awards categories, NATAS will induct new members into the Gold and Silver Circle. These honorees are an elite group of professionals who have made significant contributions to television for 50 and 25 years, respectively.
“These inductees are truly among the most exceptional professionals in our business,” said Sharp. “Each has given their own distinguished service, not just in, but to the television industry and the people working in it every day.”
The 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards will be presented live at the Palladium Times Square in New York City and will be streamed live on NATAS’ dedicated viewing platform powered by Vimeo, available on the web at watch.theemmys.tv and via The Emmys® apps for iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV, and Roku (full list at apps.theemmys.tv).
Gold Circle – 2024 News Inductees:
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Rodney Batten, Photojournalist, NBC News
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Rita Braver, National Correspondent, “CBS Sunday Morning” CBS News
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Maria Antonieta Collins, Journalist and Television Host, Univision
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Marvin Kalb, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, NBC News, CBS News, “Meet the Press”
Silver Circle – 2024 News Inductees:
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Catherine McKenzie, Executive Producer, ABC News
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Javier Morgado, Executive Producer, “New Day,” “Early Start,” CNN
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Eduardo Suarez, Vice President of Production Programs, CNN en Español
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Pierre Thomas, Senior Justice Correspondent, ABC News
Gold Circle – 2024 Documentary Inductees:
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Tom Spain, Cinematographer, Vice President and Editorial Director of Simon & Schuster Audio
Silver Circle – 2024 Documentary Inductees:
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Raney Aronson-Rath, Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer of PBS’ FRONTLINE
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Ric Esther Bienstock, Documentary Director, Writer, Producer, and Executive Producer, Good Soup Productions, Inc.
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Abby Ginzberg, Documentary Director and Producer, Ginzberg Productions
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Mette Hoffmann Meyer, Documentary Director and Producer, The Why Foundation
About W. Kamau Bell
W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, director, producer, husband, and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN Original Series United Shades of America. In 2023, he won an Emmy for his HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. He also won a Peabody Award for his 2022 Showtime docu-series We Need to Talk About Cosby. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book and the author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6′ 4″, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. His comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau is on the board of directors for DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau is also the ACLU’s Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. In 2023, Kamau and his wife Melissa Hudson Bell co-founded Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company in Oakland, CA. He cares too much and sleeps too little.
About NATAS:
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is a service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational, and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy® Awards for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime, and Children’s & Family programming, as well as achievements in television Technology & Engineering.
NATAS membership consists of more than 18,000 broadcast and media professionals represented in 19 regional chapters across the country. Beyond awards, NATAS has extensive educational programs including regional student television and its Student Award for Excellence and the National Student Production Awards for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public.
