ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will screen three of this year’s 31 Peabody Award-winning works at the Georgia Museum of Art. The programs to be screened are “Monkey Trial,” “The Compleat Angler” and “Door to Door” from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 10, April 24 and May 8, respectively. The screenings are free to the public.
“We are pleased to present these works of excellence to the Athens community,” said John Soloski, dean of the Grady College. “The quality of each of these award-winning pieces is synonymous with the brilliance and prestige that is Peabody.”
Thursday, April 10
“Monkey Trial” (Nebraska ETV and The American Experience, WGBH-Boston)
In 1925, a high school teacher named John Scopes was arrested in Dayton, Tenn., for violating a state law forbidding the teaching of evolution in public schools. His trial quickly grew into a media circus. One hundred and fifty reporters came to Dayton to report on the eight-day trial. In “Monkey Trial,” filmmaker Christine Lesiak weaves together interviews with leading historians, America’s foremost scholars and Dayton residents to vividly capture the passions that were unleashed in the summer of 1925. Far from healing the split between science and religion, the Scopes trial sent the fundamentalist movement underground where it emerged decades later as a new and powerful force in American culture.
Thursday, April 24
“The Compleat Angler” (ESPN and Lake Champlain Productions)
Through the centuries, countless fishermen have relied on Izaak Walton’s “The Compleat Angler” as a living bible on subjects like the fine art of choosing and casting correct flies, the spring migration patterns of river trout and why fishing can be so integral to living a full and “compleat” life. This documentary, enhanced by exquisite shots of British waterways, follows James Prosek, then an undergraduate student at Yale University working on his senior essay, through a journey more personal than might be first imagined – of a young man seeking to live simply by incorporating the philosophies of Walton into his own life.
Thursday, May 8
“Door to Door” (TNT from Rosemont Productions International in association with Angel/Brown Productions)
The TNT original film “Door to Door” tells the inspiring true story of Bill Porter, a door-to-door salesman who was born with cerebral palsy. Porter was told for many years that he was unemployable, but with the unwavering support of a dedicated mother and an indomitable spirit that became his trademark, Porter did support himself – as a salesman in Portland, Ore. Porter’s professional success is all the more amazing given the fact that his cerebral palsy makes it extremely difficult and painful to walk. For more than 40 years, he walked eight to 10 miles a day, selling products for the Watkins Company and along the way wove himself into the lives and hearts of the people along his route. Today, he is 69 years old and still selling via telephone and the Internet.
Tickets and reservations for the three screenings are not required. For more information, visit www.grady.uga.edu or call the Grady College at (706) 542-5038.
Administered by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, the Peabody Awards recognize excellence in electronic media. They differ from other electronic media awards because they are given solely on the basis of merit, rather than within designated categories.
##
NOTE TO EDITORS: Graphics available upon request.