The Peabody Awards at UGA has appointed Marcy Carsey, Herman Gray, Kathy Im, Kim Masters, Mark McKinnon and John Seigenthaler to its board of jurors.
In a related move, the new submission period for Peabody Awards entries will open Oct. 13 and will run through Jan. 9. Entries made during this time will be considered for the 76th annual Peabody Awards, which will be announced next spring.
Carsey teamed with Tom Werner to form Carsey Werner Company, which produced hit shows including The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Third Rock from the Sun, That ’70s Show and Grace Under Fire.
In 1996, Carsey and Werner were inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Broadcasting and Cable Magazine Hall of Fame. In 1999, they were given the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, placing them in the Museum of the American Dream as two of the 20th century’s most extraordinary achievers. Carsey also received the Lucy Award from Women in Film.
Gray is a former radio producer and jazz announcer whose interest in media, culture and politics is wide ranging. Professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Gray teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in media and television studies, cultural theory and politics and black cultural studies. His books on jazz, television, and black cultural politics include Producing Jazz, Watching Race and Cultural Moves.
Im in her role as director oversees investments in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s enduring commitment to journalism and media. The program, which aims to strengthen U.S. democracy by building a vibrant and independent media sector, works in three areas: professional nonprofit reporting, nonfiction multimedia storytelling and participatory civic media.
Masters is editor-at-large of The Hollywood Reporter and host of KCRW’s The Business. A former correspondent for NPR, she has also served as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, Time and Esquire and was a staff reporter for The Washington Post. She is the author of The Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everybody Else and co-author (with Nancy Griffin) of Hit & Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Gruber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood.
McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist and television producer. He is the co-creator, co-executive producer and co-host of The Circus: The Greatest Political Show on Earth, Showtime’s real-time documentary series of the 2016 presidential election. He was the chief media advisor to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns and is co-founder of No Labels, an organization dedicated to bipartisanship, civil dialogue and political problem solving. For 20 years, he worked at Public Strategies Inc., where he was an owner and vice chair. In 2010, Public Strategies merged with Hill+Knowlton Strategies, where he served as global vice chair and currently serves as an advisor to the firm.
Seigenthaler, senior counsel for Finn Partners, is an award winning communications professional. He helps clients tell their stories creating visual and thought-provoking narratives that positively impact target audiences. Seigenthaler, a former NBC News anchor, develops strategic communications plans for corporations and high profile C-level executives.