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For RTDNA, the Radio Television Digital News Association, through World Haus Media

Event photography · New York, NY · October 12, 2026

Red carpet photos for RTDNA's 2026 Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala

Kevin Dale of Kevin Dale Photography and World Haus Media brought us in to light and photograph the red carpet at Gotham Hall for RTDNA's black-tie Murrow Awards gala, with the first images delivered the same day.

By Tony Ellis Martinez · TM Productions

A newsroom team of about fifteen people in black tie on the red carpet in front of the Edward R. Murrow Awards step and repeat, with the wood paneling of Gotham Hall above the backdrop
A newsroom team on the red carpet at Gotham Hall.

Kevin Dale of Kevin Dale Photography and World Haus Media brought us in on this one, with RTDNA as the client. Kevin photographed the ballroom and the main stage and edited the gallery, and we took the red carpet, which meant supplying the lighting, the grip and the camera gear for the step and repeat and photographing everybody who came through it.

The Edward R. Murrow Awards are RTDNA's journalism awards, and this year's competition drew nearly 5,000 entries and more than 140 national winners. The gala is where the national and student winners get celebrated in person, and on Monday, October 12, 2026, that meant a black-tie night at Gotham Hall on Broadway in Manhattan, with a cocktail reception at 6 and the dinner and show running until 10, and a room full of journalists, news anchors and news directors from all over the country.

The red carpet step and repeat

A white step and repeat covered in logos, with black tuxedos standing next to gold and pink gowns, is a tough thing to light evenly, so we had the lights up in front of the backdrop and were shooting test frames before 5 PM, well ahead of the reception. From there it was full length shots on the carpet for the gowns and tighter frames for the winners, from the first arrivals until about 10:30 that night.

A woman in a metallic gold gown standing full length on the red carpet in front of the Murrow Awards backdrop
A full length portrait on the red carpet.
A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a black gown with a large pink satin bow standing on the red carpet
A couple on the red carpet, with the pink bow in full.
A group of about twelve journalists in formal wear lined up on the red carpet, one holding a Murrow Award
A team with their award on the red carpet.

Winners with their awards

Most of the winners came through holding their Murrow Award, some on their own and some with the whole team that worked on the story standing behind them. Plenty of people just smiled for the camera, which is great, but the ones who couldn't stand still are honestly where the best frames of the night came from.

A young woman in a dark dress holding her crystal Murrow Award up next to her face at the step and repeat
A winner holding her award up at the step and repeat.
A man holding his award high over his head while a colleague points at it and another woman laughs beside them
A winner holding his award up while his colleagues point at it.

Pierre Thomas and the Barney Oldfield Award

ABC News senior justice correspondent Pierre Thomas was this year's recipient of RTDNA's Barney Oldfield Distinguished Service Award, which goes to someone who has given their time, energy and commitment to the growth and success of the RTDNA Foundation, and he came through the step and repeat with the plaque in his hands.

Pierre Thomas of ABC News in a tuxedo, smiling and holding his framed Barney Oldfield Distinguished Service Award plaque in front of the Murrow Awards backdrop
Pierre Thomas of ABC News with his Barney Oldfield Distinguished Service Award.

The newsroom teams

Whole newsroom teams came through together, and those group shots tend to be the ones a station posts the next morning, so we went wide enough to get everybody in, along with the red carpet and the wood paneling of Gotham Hall above the backdrop. We do a lot of this at awards nights closer to home too, like the Berks Schuylkill manufacturing awards where every winning team stopped at the step and repeat.

A team of eight in black formal wear on the red carpet, all pointing at the crystal award one of them is holding
A team pointing at their award.
A newsroom team posing on the red carpet with one man kneeling in front and a woman crouched beside him
A team getting loose on the red carpet.
A large group in formal wear on the red carpet, several with arms in the air cheering
Arms up for a team photo.
Six people in formal wear standing on the red carpet, one woman in a sequined blue gown holding an award
A team of six with their award.

Inside the ballroom

Kevin had the ballroom and the main stage, where the RTDNA Chair and a group of guest presenters ran the show under the big dome at Gotham Hall. We grabbed a few frames of the room between arrivals on the carpet.

The Gotham Hall ballroom from the back of the room, with the lit dome ceiling, Murrow medallions on the walls and the stage screens in the distance
The Gotham Hall ballroom during the dinner and show.
The main stage at Gotham Hall with two large screens showing an award recipient and blue light on the columns behind
The main stage during the awards.
The event sponsor board on an easel in the darkened ballroom listing the gala sponsors
The sponsor board in the ballroom.

Delivering the photos

The client had the first edited images the same day, and then the full delivery came in at more than 1,000 images from the red carpet and the ballroom.

If you've got an awards night, a gala or anything with a step and repeat on the calendar, in New York or anywhere around PA and NJ, give us a call and we'll tell you how we'd light it.

Thanks to Kevin and World Haus Media for bringing us in, and to RTDNA for a great night.

Event details via rtdna.org, award details via Inside Radio. Red carpet photos by TM Productions.