New York Film Academy Broadcast Journalism graduate George Colli, along with the investigative team at NBC-Connecticut, has been honored with a 2017 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. This is one of the most prestigious honors in American journalism, and we are so proud of what George has accomplished!
In July 2015, Colli and his team broke the story about dozens of homeowners in Hartford, Tolland and Windham Counties who discovered their concrete foundations were deteriorating. The homes with faulty basements were all built between the early 1980s and the early 2000s and most began to show signs of deterioration between ten and 20 years after construction. Their investigation was the catalyst for the State of Connecticut to launch its own multi-agency probe into the cause and scope of the problem.
“Thank for for all the support and mentorship,” said Colli to Broadcast Journalism Chair Bill Einreinhofer. “I really appreciate everything NYFA did to train me for this career.”
Every year about a dozen news stories and films are honored by the duPont-Columbia University Awards for the strength of their reporting, storytelling and impact in the public interest. The winning pieces are selected by the duPont jury from hundreds of entries vetted by a board of screeners.
This year’s duPont Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday January 25, at Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library. It will be co-hosted by Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News, and Jane Pauly, host of CBS Sunday Morning.