The board of regents has approved four new members of the George Foster Peabody Awards board. Joining other experts who select television and radio’s most coveted prize are Yuen-Ying Chan of Hong Kong, Barbara Cochran of Washington, D.C., Rebecca Leet of Arlington, Va., and Ron Simon of New York.
“We are delighted to welcome such a distinguished group,” says Horace Newcomb, Peabody Awards director. “Our board of 16 changes over time to ensure a variety of viewpoints and a range of expertise. These individuals will help expand that expertise and contribute substantially to the enduring importance of the Peabody Awards.”
Chan is the founder of the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Center, where she set up the master of journalism program and launched Hong Kong’s first fellowship for working journalists.
Cochran is the president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, the world’s largest professional organization, representing local and network news and other electronic media in more than 30 countries.
Leet is the president of Rebecca Leet and Associates and author of Marketing for Mission and From Fundraiser to Change Agent: The Story of Transforming the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.
Simon is curator of television at the Museum of Television and Radio. He is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University, at New York University and at Hunter College, where he teaches courses on the history of media.