June 14th – The 44th Annual Southeast Emmy® Awards had a special ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead in Atlanta on June 17th, 2018.
Winners were announced in 86 categories including News Anchor, Reporter, Outstanding Documentary and Interactivity, among others. The awards recognize outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast throughout the 2017 calendar year.
Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV was the most honored outlet with 29 Emmy Awards, including Overall Excellence and News Excellence. WSB-TV’s Channel 2 Action News at 5 received the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Newscast. WSB-TV and WGCL-TV tied for Outstanding Morning Newscast Emmy Award.
Individual honors included WGCL’s Adam Harding (General Assignment Reporter, News Reporter-Live), WXIA’s Cheryl Preheim (News Anchor) and WXIA’s Erin Peterson (News Producer). WRBC’s Rick Karle received the Emmy Award for Sports Anchor and WTVA’s Matt Laubhan was honored as Weather Anchor.
In addition, the Governors’ Award was bestowed upon Wilbur Fitzgerald, Shay Bentley-Griffin, Melissa Goodman and Ric Reitz. This group was instrumental in securing the 2008 Entertainment Tax Incentive that propelled Georgia to a leading position for network television production. Because of their vision, Hollywood has come to Georgia and brought with it thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact.
CNN Anchor Fredricka Whitfield emceed the gala. Other presenters included Pinewood Studios Atlanta President Frank Patterson, “Stranger Things” actress Bethany DeZelle, from “Spotlight” and “The Post”, Michael Cyril Creighton and many highly acclaimed journalists working across the Southeast.
With more than 1200 entries from a fivestate region, the 2018 ceremony marks the most entered EMMY® Awards season in the organization’s history.
A detailed listing of all awards verifed by the independent accountancy firm of Salus Consulting is posted at
This extraordinary gala is made possible by SCAD, Premier Partner of the 44th Annual Southeast EMMY® Awards. Special thanks to our Official Sponsors, including Chick-fil-A, Home Depot, Pinewood Atlanta Studios, TBS and TNT.
