Athens, Ga. - From Los Angeles to London and Minneapolis to Manila, broadcasters, webcasters, news directors, documentarians and makers of dramas, comedies and children's fare are starting to ask the question: Was my work in 2011 worthy of a Peabody Award?
The Peabodys' 71st annual search for excellence is officially under way. Original broadcast, cablecast and webcast programs presented in the calendar year 2011 are eligible. Entrants may apply online at www.peabody.uga.edu. The entry deadline is Jan. 13.
The Peabody Awards, administered by the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, are the oldest honor in electronic media, established in 1940 to commend and encourage ambitious radio programming. Today the Peabodys recognize distinguished achievement and public service by television and radio stations, broadcast and cable networks, producing organizations, individuals and the Internet.
The awards are also the world's most selective and prestigious honor, bestowed by a 16-member board of TV critics, industry practitioners, scholars and experts in culture and fine arts whose lodestar is excellence regardless of category or genre.
At the 70th annual Peabody Awards ceremony in May, talk-show legend Larry King presided over the presentation of 38 medallions at New York City's Waldorf=Astoria. Recipients were as distinctive and different as FX's drama, Justified, and Washington Post.com's The Cost of War: Traumatic Brain Injury, Coming Home a Different Person to WNYC-FM's Radiolab and Indianapolis TV station WTHR's expose of bogus economic development projects in Reality Check: Where Are the Jobs?
For more information regarding the Peabody Awards or to request an entry form, call 706/542-3787, email the Peabody office at peabody@uga.edu or see the Peabody website at www.peabody.uga.edu.
Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in journalism, advertising, public relations, digital and broadcast journalism and mass media arts. The college offers two graduate degrees and is home to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.
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