Peabody Award

Peabody Award

The George Foster Peabody Awards (Peabody Awards) recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting. Committee member Lambdin Kay, manager of WSB Radio in Atlanta, thought the award would be more credible if it were academically sanctioned and independently administered. He approached John E. Drewry of the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, who enthusiastically endorsed the idea. The Peabody Award was established in 1940 with the school, now the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, as its permanent home.

The Peabody Awards were originally only for radio, but in 1948, television awards were introduced. In the late 1990s additional categories for material distributed via the World Wide Web were added. Materials created solely for theatrical motion picture release are not eligible.

Reflecting excellence in quality rather than popularity or commercial success, the Peabody is the industry’s most competitive honor, with an average of about 25-35 winners chosen annually from more than 1,000 entries.

The award is determined by one criterion—"Excellence". Because submissions are accepted from a wide variety of sources and styles, deliberations seek "Excellence On Its Own Terms." Each entry is evaluated on the achievement of standards it establishes within its own contexts. Entries are self-selected by those making submissions, for which a fee is required.