NEW YORK, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday received the International Emmy Founders Award via an online ceremony for his COVID-19 briefings.
The award is in recognition of Cuomo's "leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world," said a recent statement from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS).
"The governor's 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure," said Bruce L. Paisner, president and CEO of IATAS.
"I wish I could say that my daily COVID presentations were well-choreographed, scripted, rehearsed or reflected any of the talents that you advance. They didn't. They offered only one thing, authentic truth and stability. But sometimes that's enough," said Cuomo at the ceremony.
The Founders Award is presented to an individual or organization who "crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity" with previous recipients including former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and film director Steven Spielberg.
Cuomo is the first incumbent political figure to receive the Founders Award.
New York was hit hard by the pandemic in early 2020 and successfully bent the curve with New York's positivity ratio of COVID-19 tests among the lowest across the United States until now.