CBS News awarded 47th duPont for 60 Minutes report

CBS News will receive the Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Journalism award for a 60 Minutes Scott Pelley report on a deadly Syrian gas attack against civilians. The win marks the 47th duPont for CBS News and the 16th time a 60 Minutes story or reporter has been honored with it. This is the third time a Pelley report has won the duPont, considered the highest honor in electronic journalism. The awards ceremony will be held at Columbia University next month.

Pelley and his team spent months finding survivors of the 2013 attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians and aired their accounts for the first time. They also uncovered footage of its chilling aftermath that it broadcast in the April 2015 report. The 60 Minutes Overtime feature about the decision to broadcast the horrific footage was the most viewed story in the digital show's history.

This year's award represents the sixth time over the past nine years that CBS News has been recognized by the duPont awards committee.

Jeff Fager is the executive producer of 60 Minutes; Executive Editor Bill Owens oversees 60 Minutes Overtime.