LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Emmy tribe has spoken: This year the awards show starts honoring the best programs in the oft-maligned genre of reality TV.

''It wasn't difficult to see that new prime-time reality programs have reached critical mass and needed to be established (in a new award),'' said Emmy Awards director John Leverence.

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences rules divide reality programs into two categories: those that offer prizes, such as CBS' ''Survivor,'' and those that don't, like PBS' documentary series ''American High.''

Source: AP Entertainment "