Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics

Locally produced television documentaries are an endangered species, so it’s all the more impressive that Las Vegas station KLAS-TV put so much effort and care into a report that had the potential to alienate rich and powerful constituents—and presented it in prime time. Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics takes a meticulous look at how the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s multi-billion-dollar plan to pump massive amounts of water to Las Vegas from rural Nevada is likely to affect the state’s environment and the ranchers, farmers and Native Americans who live in those parts. KLAS reporters spent five years traveling the state, collecting data and opinions from rural Nevadans whose concerns had been largely ignored. The station packaged its findings with a level of craft and cinematography that bespoke national network news. For giving a platform to Nevadans who were being left out of a crucial debate and putting public interest ahead of its own, KLAS’s Crossfire: Water, Power and Politics receives a Peabody Award.