Yellowstone: Four Seasons After Fire

When the fires of 1988 devoured acres of Yellowstone National Park, most observers thought the area would be a long time in recovering if, indeed, it ever recovered at all. But after the fire, all the sage observers left, except for the news people of KCNC-TV returned to the park time and time again to see, over the long run, how the park was faring. By backpacking, snowmobiling, and traveling in the wooded areas of the park, they learned at close range what was happening. And what was happening was a wondrous surprise. Yellowstone was healing itself. While tourists, park officials, and environmentalists gave their opinions, the most important opinion was given by the park itself. In an era when a hot story stays hot for only a fleeting time, follow-up reporting is not always what it should or could be. But in this case, the news team from KCNC did an extraordinary job of looking past the initial events and taking a longer view of the situation, a lesson for journalists everywhere. For unswerving dedication to a story and exemplary journalism, a Peabody Award to KCNC-TV, Denver for Yellowstone: Four Seasons After Fire.