61st Annual Peabody Awards Winners
Jaime Jeske
Press Release
SOURCE: The Peabody Awards
61st Annual George Foster Peabody Awards Are Announced for Broadcast
Excellence
Coverage of September 11 Prominent Among This Year's Recipients
ATHENS, Ga., March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- In a year marked forever by the
terrorist attacks on America, the 61st annual Peabody Awards acknowledge
programming related to September 11.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000320/PEABODY ) (Video:
http://www.videonewswire.com/PEABODY/032702/event.html )
The Peabody Board recognized the ABC News organizations, citing their
depth and breadth of coverage on and following that day. Awards were
also presented to National Public Radio for its more than 180 hours of
programming related to September 11 and to ``Third Watch: In Their Own
Words.'' A special episode of this NBC series from John Wells
Productions provides an occasion for police, fire and medical
professionals to recount their personal experiences.
CNN Productions and Channel 4 International received an award for two
documentaries, ``Beneath the Veil'' and ``Unholy War,'' produced by
Saira Shah. These powerful works chronicle the terror and violence in
the lives of Afghan women. The board also awarded a Peabody to
``America: A Tribute to Heroes,'' produced by Joel Gallen and simulcast
by more than thirty broadcast and cable networks.
These and other award winners were chosen from more than 1,100 entries
and announced today by the University of Georgia's Grady College of
Journalism and Mass Communication, which has administered the Peabody
Awards program since its inception in 1940. The awards will be presented
at a May 20 luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Walter Cronkite
will host this year's awards ceremony.
The Peabody Board also singled out the beleaguered ABC news program
``Nightline'' with the high honor of an institutional award, citing its
more than twenty years of outstanding long-form news presentations.
Institutional awards also went to WGBH, a mainstay in the world of
public broadcasting, and to Youth Radio, a Bay-area organization that
instructs teenagers in techniques of radio production while offering
guidance in community service, critical thinking skills and self-esteem.
CBS's ``60 Minutes II'' received a Peabody for one of the most difficult
segments in the history of the series, an exploration of Bob Kerrey's
actions in Vietnam. This painfully honest program presents multiple
perspectives on events that took place in the village of Thanh Phong in
1969. A Peabody also went to the ABC movie ``Anne Frank,'' a production
that moves far beyond previous accounts of the familiar tragic story and
into the concentration camps that define memories of the Holocaust.
Cable television continued to be rewarded for an increasing number of
original programs. The Showtime network was cited for ``Things Behind
the Sun,'' a harrowing depiction of rape and its lingering personal
effects. ``A Huey P. Newton Story'' was a Peabody winner that aired on
Black Starz!. HBO will again receive multiple awards for such
outstanding original programs as ``Band of Brothers,'' the powerful
10-part World War II miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, and
``Wit,'' adapted from the stage play with a superb performance by Emma
Thompson as an English teacher dying of cancer. ``Boycott'' captures
both the generalized struggles common in the civil rights movement and
the personal growth of Martin Luther King Jr. ``Conspiracy,'' based on a
single surviving transcript of the meeting in which Eichmann and other
Nazi officials designed the ``Final Solution,'' fully realizes the
banality of evil. A Chiesla Foundation/Cinemax production, ``The Life
and Times of Hank Greenberg,'' provides a loving tribute to the baseball
great and to the events and places he made important.
In addition to the award for its September 11 coverage, National Public
Radio received Peabodys for ``Jazz Profiles,'' a program that offers as
much music as commentary on this unique American musical form, and ``The
DNA Profiles,'' in which John Hockenberry provides an accessible account
of complex scientific information. Another radio winner, ``A Murder in
the Neighbourhood,'' comes from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Public television also received numerous Peabodys. The umbrella series
``American Masters'' was recognized for its lyrical biographical profile
``F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams,'' while ExxonMobil Masterpiece
Theatre garnered an award for ``Talking Heads II: Miss Fozzard Finds Her
Feet,'' a superb one-woman performance by Patricia Routledge. Davis
Guggenheim's probing documentary, ``The First Year,'' focused on the
efforts of novice teachers in the public school system and was also
recognized by the board.
Two programs for children, ``Blue's Clues'' and the animated charmer
``Little Bill,'' were singled out for their quiet, gentle approach.
Another take on life with and for children is offered in Peabody winner
``The Bernie Mac Show.'' This production for FOX television transcends
barriers of race and class and offers the wise, comic musings of Bernie
Mac, a contemporary Everyman who views life from a distinctive
African-American perspective.
A Peabody went to an animated project that might be mistaken for
children's fare; ``Still Life With Animated Dogs'' instead presents a
wonderful meditation on human freedom. Also recognized was the equally
inventive ``My Father's Camera'' from the National Film Board of Canada,
which blends home movies with original production to explore the role of
personal filmmaking in cinematic history.
Among local programs recognized this year was a production by WCPO-TV of
Cincinnati, Ohio. The station received its second Peabody in three
years, this time for ``Visions of Vine Street,'' a model investigative
documentary that informs citizens and contributes to improved community
life. Peter Rosen Productions teamed with KERA-TV of Dallas/Ft. Worth to
win a Peabody for ``The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge,'' an exuberant
account of the anxieties and pleasures experienced by young pianists in
the Van Cliburn piano competition.
This year's Peabody winners include several international productions.
``WTO Challenge'' was produced by Television Broadcast Limited in Hong
Kong. ``Endgame in Ireland,'' an international co-production drawing
support from sources in the United States, Ireland, France, Germany,
Australia and Finland, examines the intricate realties of international
peace negotiations. ``Hell in the Pacific,'' a Carlton
Productions/Learning Channel offering for Britain's Channel Four
Television, uses World War II archival film footage to remind us of the
savagery of that war. ``Mzima - Haunt of the Riverhorse,'' from United
Kingdom production company Survival Anglia Ltd., provided breathtaking
underwater images of a delicate African ecosystem. There in the Mzima
springs, a lumbering hippopotamus becomes a graceful dancer.
``Throughout the deliberations of the board there was a strong sense
that this year was special,'' said Horace Newcomb, director of the
Peabody Awards. ``September 11 was in our thoughts, especially when
considering comedy programs, works made for children or documentaries
focused on the arts. But we were constantly reminded of the many roles
played by radio, television and the web -- the ways in which grief and
anger can be altered by laughter and by the joy found in beautiful
images and elegant ideas.''
THE GEORGE FOSTER
PEABODY AWARDS
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
61st Annual Peabody Awards Winners
ABC News Coverage of September 11, 2001
ABC News, New York
For the network's depth and breadth of coverage of events on and
subsequent to September 11, 2001
National Public Radio Coverage of
September 11, 2001
National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.
For coverage of events related to September 11, 2001, that enabled
audiences to mourn and reflect upon those unsettled days
CNN Presents: Beneath the Veil and Unholy War
CNN Productions (Atlanta), Channel 4 International and Hard Cash
Productions
A deeply personal account of the terror and violence of repression
and
discrimination in Afghanistan
Third Watch: In Their Own Words
NBC, John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros.
Television
An unusual juxtaposition of reality and storytelling that captures
an
unforgettable moment in history when real and fictional lives came
together
America: A Tribute to Heroes
Joel Gallen and the U.S. Broadcast and Cable Networks
An outpouring of honor for those lost on September 11, 2001, from
the
creative communities of television, film, music and theatre
Anne Frank
Touchstone Television, presented on ABC
A powerful, fully realized re-telling of a well-known tragic story
that
forever dramatizes the horror of the Holocaust
American Masters: F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams
Thirteen/WNET (New York), presented on PBS
For chronicling the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of America's
greatest
novelists, in images as lyrical and inventive as his prose
Jazz Profiles
National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.
An innovative presentation of the world of jazz, honoring the works
and
the great artists of this unique American musical form
The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge
Peter Rosen Productions, Inc., and KERA-TV,
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
A seamless production, presenting the exuberance and anxiety of this
competition and the spectacular performances of young pianists
Mzima - Haunt of the Riverhorse
Survival Anglia LTD, U.K.
A stunning documentary filmed in the underwater realm of the
hippopotamus
and crocodile to portray the dynamics of a delicate African
ecosystem
ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: Talking Heads II: Miss Fozzard Finds
Her
Feet
Slow Motion Ltd. production for the BBC, presented on PBS
A poignant performance of the richly complicated life of a
middle-aged,
middle-class Englishwoman
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
The Chiesla Foundation and Cinemax
A life, a game, a time and a place - all captured in this loving
tribute
to one of baseball's greats
Still Life with Animated Dogs
Independent Television Service (ITVS) and Paul & Sandra Fierlinger,
AR&T
Associates, Inc.
A visually delightful animated documentary that becomes a metaphor
for the
human spirit
The DNA Files
SoundVision Productions, presented on National Public Radio
A vivid, accessible radio series explaining the intricate building
blocks
of genetic science
Visions of Vine Street
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, Ohio
A model investigative documentary from a local television news
organization that informs its citizens and contributes to improved
life in
its community
A Murder in the Neighbourhood
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
An intimate radio documentary that records intense human responses
to
harrowing events in a Toronto suburb
WTO Challenge
Television Broadcast Limited, Hong Kong, SAR, People's Republic of
China
An impressive documentary examining the personal, social and
economic
implications of China's growing involvement in world affairs
Endgame in Ireland
Brook Lapping Productions for BBC2 in association with WGBH/Boston,
RTE
(Ireland), La Sept ARTE (France and Germany), SBS (Australia) and
YLE
(Finland)
An extended exploration of the realities of international peace
negotiations
A Huey P. Newton Story
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Luna Ray Films, BLACK STARZ!, PBS and
African
Heritage Network
A mesmerizing portrait of the complex co-founder of the Black
Panther
Party for Self-Defense that captures the turbulence of the 1960s
Hell in the Pacific
A Carlton Production in association with The Learning Channel for
Channel
Four Television
A forceful analysis of the savagery of World War II in the Pacific
and a
reminder of the terror and horror of war in any place, at any time
Conspiracy
HBO Films produced in association with the British Broadcasting
Corporation
A chilling tour de force based on the actual transcript of the
meeting in
which the Nazi "Final Solution" was designed
Things Behind the Sun
Showtime, An Echo Lake Productions/Sidekick Entertainment Production
A searing exploration of rape and its never-ending consequences,
based on
the experiences of the filmmaker
Boycott
Norman Twain Productions with Shelby Stone Productions in
association with
HBO Films
A marvelous portrayal of pivotal events in the civil rights movement
and
in the lives of people at its center
The First Year
Teachers Documentary Project, presented on PBS
A passionate record of the trials, triumphs, and tribulations of
five
novice teachers, educating its viewers to life on the front lines of
contemporary public education
My Father's Camera
National Film Board of Canada
Old pictures blend with new in this loving tribute to family, memory
and
the Super 8mm cameras that recorded them
Youth Radio
Berkeley, Calif.
For activities enabling thousands of teenagers to express their
views, to
experience civic engagement and to develop critical thinking skills,
teamwork and self-esteem
Little Bill
Nickelodeon
A wonderful children's program demonstrating that television can be
quiet,
gentle and caring at every moment, with any subject, for all people
Blue's Clues
Nickelodeon
A "play-along, think-along" animated series for pre-schoolers that
continues year in and year out to respect its very special audience
WGBH
Boston, Mass.
An example of the best in public television, this preeminent
organization
has served its community, the nation and the world with outstanding
productions and collaborations
60 Minutes II: Memories of a Massacre
CBS News, New York
A painful and honest examination of actions in the village of Thanh
Phong,
Vietnam, in February 1969; of the responsibilities of a young
officer; and
of two dramatically different accounts of the events
Wit
Avenue Pictures in association with HBO Films
An unforgettable drama in which a woman faces her own mortality with
frankness, dignity and humor
The Bernie Mac Show
Wilmore Films, Regency Television and 20th Century Fox
This comedic, contemporary Everyman transcends race and class while
lifting viewers with laughter, compassion-and cool
Band of Brothers
Band of Brothers Ltd. on behalf of DreamWorks and Playtone,
presented on
HBO
A stunning ten-part miniseries dedicated to those who took up arms
to
defend ideas and ideals and those who fought by their side, their
brothers
Nightline
ABC News, New York
A truly remarkable television institution demonstrating the medium's
capacity to serve a vital social function, offering the best in
long-form
news programming for more than 20 years
SOURCE: The Peabody Awards
Jaime