Alex Gibney, director of a wide range of documentaries, including music docs about Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, James Brown and more, will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 45th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, which will be presented over two nights. Gibney, 70, will be honored for his contributions to the field of documentary filmmaking at the documentary ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Veteran TV journalist Jane Pauley will be honored for her career in news broadcasting at the news ceremony the previous night. Both events will take place live at the Palladium Times Square in New York City.
“I am grateful, humbled and deeply honored by this award,” Gibney said in a statement. “While it has my name on it, it is also a powerful recognition of the work of my collaborators over the years, including my producers, cinematographers and, most especially, editors. It reminds me of that great two-word poem, invented on the spot, at a speech at Harvard, by Muhammad Ali: ‘Me, We.’”
Gibney has won five Primetime Emmys, an Oscar and a Grammy. He won a Grammy in 2004 for best historical album for Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey. He was nominated for best long form music video the following year for that same project and for best music film in 2016 for Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown.
Gibney received his first Primetime Emmy nod in 2004 for the aforementioned Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues, which was nominated for outstanding nonfiction series. He was nominated for outstanding documentary or nonfiction special in 2015 for Sinatra: All or Nothing at All and again in 2020 for Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time.
Gibney’s other music and pop-culture documentaries include The Fifties (1997), AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies: Love Crazy (1998), Jimi Hendrix and the Blues (2001), 3 Doors Down: Away from the Sun, Live from Houston, Texas (2005), Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008), History of the Eagles (2013) and Rolling Stone: Stories From the Edge (2017). Gibney’s most recent feature documentary, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and is now available on MGM+.
The range of those projects, encompassing many different musical styles, gives some idea of Gibney’s range. And his documentaries are not limited to music. He won an Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) and a total of five Primetime Emmys for Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2013) and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015).
Adam Sharp, president and CEO of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, said in a statement: “We are honored to pay tribute to these two revered icons of our industry. Jane Pauley and Alex Gibney continue to reach viewers while at the same time opening doors for those coming behind them. This honor is not only about impressive longevity in a competitive space, but also the broad and sweeping impact each has had on the business, their audiences, and the greater community. NATAS is proud to celebrate their enduring dedication to television excellence.”
Jane Pauley said: “I am so grateful for this recognition. It is the honor of a lifetime. My career has been a shared experience made possible by partnerships with the best in journalism and collaborations with its most inventive minds. Change and opportunity have been the constants. My career has not been a steady ascent but a winding path leading to my crowning achievement as host of CBS News Sunday Morning.”
The 45th News & Documentary Emmy Awards 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.
