Lester Holt, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC anchor, was recognized with a custom award from Bennett Awards as the recipient of the 2020 Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. This recognition award, bestowed annually by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication from Washington State University, honors recipients who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence that exemplifies the career of Edward R. Murrow. The men and women who are named as Murrow Award winners are those who will be remembered as the pillars of the communication industry.
Traditionally, this award is given to recipients at the Edward R. Murrow Symposium. This event was postponed this year, however, due to COVID-19.
In 2011, Bennett Awards worked with Washington State University to create a new custom award design for this lifetime achievement award. This unique award design incorporates a sculpture in the shape of a vintage broadcast microphone, similar to the one used by Edward R. Murrow. This custom sculpture award is cast in bronze, and mounted on a black marble base with personalized gold-fill engraving of the award name, year of presentation, recipient name, award purpose, and presenting organization. This award design was refreshed in 2019, giving it a new, fresh look, and this new design was first used for Holt’s award.