POV captures five of PBS’s nine news and documentary Emmys

POV‘s “Where Soldiers Come From,” a documentary following 10 teenagers from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula who joined the military and fought in Afghanistan, won for long-form continuing news coverage. (Photo: Heather Courtney/POV)

PBS topped all the other broadcast networks, as runners-up ABC and CBS each won seven. POV’s “Last Train Home,” a film about Chinese migrant workers who go home to celebrate New Year’s, won in two categories — best documentary and outstanding business and economic reporting (long form) — while “Armadillo,” which tracked Danish soldiers in Afghanistan, was cited for editing in the documentary and long form category.

Also in the long-form category, “Enemies of the People,” which examined Cambodia’s killing fields, won for outstanding investigative journalism; and “Where Soldiers Come From,” about National Guard recruits from northern Michigan, was cited for its continuing coverage of a news story. All films aired during 2011, POV’s 25th season.

“Many of the filmmakers honored tonight have taken tremendous risks to tell these stories of common people caught up in extraordinary circumstances,” said Cynthia López, co-executive producer of POV. “We see how documentaries are able not only to chronicle history, but make a real impact in the world. We are honored to present these extraordinary works on POV.”

Other PBS winners included Frontline for “Syria Undercover” and “Revolution in Cairo,” which were both cited for outstanding coverage of a breaking news story in a news magazine. Independent Lens’s “The Woodmans,” about a family of artists, won for arts and cultural programming, and “My Life as a Turkey” from Nature received top honors in the nature programming category.

The News and Documentary Emmys in 42 categories were presented Oct. 1 in New York City.