DENVER -- Denver's 7 KMGH-TV is awarded the prestigious Alfred I. duPont- Columbia University Award for the Call7 Investigation "33 Minutes to 34 Right."

The duPont-Columbia is the equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize and is regarded as the highest honor in broadcast journalism. The duPont Awards inform the public of the contributions news organizations make to their communities and to the nation as a whole.

On Dec. 20, 2008, at Denver International Airport, Continental Flight 1404 veered off the runway into a 40-foot-deep-ravine. Call7 Investigators detected a slow response time by Denver Health Medical Center ambulances, sparking a three month investigation. The investigators exposed major flaws in the emergency response in a thirty minute news special "33 Minutes to 34 Right" broadcast March 14, 2009, on Denver's 7.

"When 115 people crashed at Denver's airport that December night in 2008 it was fair for them to expect the best emergency response possible," said Call7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski. "…I am proud to work for a television station and with a group of committed journalists who together did everything possible to make sure the emergency response mistakes that followed the crash of Continental Flight 1404 will never happen again in Denver."

The Call7 Investigative Team, Tony Kovaleski, Tom Burke, Arthur Kane and Jason Foster, will accept the award Thursday, January 21st at Columbia University in New York City. "We are tremendously honored to receive the duPont-Columbia Award and I am even more satisfied knowing the results of our investigation produced a dedicated ‘on-site' ambulance at DIA, an ambulance that paramedics tell us has saved lives" said Tony Kovaleski.

As a result of the program "33 Minutes to 34 Right", the country's fourth busiest airport, Denver International, has put an on-site ambulance response team into operation and Denver Health has implemented a ‘Red Alert' policy. "I am extremely proud of our investigative reporting here at Denver's 7. We are committed to providing this type of journalism that plays a significant role in improving our community," said Byron Grandy GM/VP Denver's 7/ Azteca America Colorado.

"This newsroom is committed to providing important and meaningful journalism for our viewers and our community. Journalism that creates change. We are honored to be able to provide that service for our community and equally honored to be recognized with such a prestigious award. It is a recognition that comes as a result of the dedication, support and passion of our entire team to the highest form of journalism. We are very proud," said Jeff Harris, News Director, 7News.

This is the second duPont-Columbia Award that Denver's 7- KMGH TV has received, the first was in 2003 for the investigation "Honor and Betrayal: Scandal at the Academy."

Click here to watch "33 minutes to 34 Right" online.