[1] The International Emmy for News was first presented in 1999 for the episode "A Witness to Murder" of the UK's Channel 4 program Dispatches.

In 2002, BBC News won for its coverage of the takeover of Kabul by Northern Alliance troops during the Afghan War.

That same year, TV Globo's Jornal Nacional received its first nomination in the category, for the editions on September 11, 2001 and for the six days following the terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

[4][5] Channel 4 News won in 2003 with its coverage of Saddam's fall, the episode is a reference to the toppling of the dictator's statue in Baghdad.

[8] The tie was repeated the following year, with Sky News winning the category for its coverage of the July 7 attacks in London, and television stations NOVA, NPS, VARA from the Netherlands with their report on the "Hunt for the Taliban".