TV news stations fare well in Peabody Awards 2012

Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera has bagged another prestigious award for its coverage of the ‘Arab Spring’; this time being recognised at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards along with a host of other news broadcasters including CNN, the BBC and CBS.

This year, the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication has named 38 recipients for the oldest awards in broadcasting.

“The range of the Peabody Awards’ search for excellence has never been wider or deeper than this year,” said Horace Newcomb, Director of the Peabody Awards – considered among the most prestigious prizes in electronic media.

The momentous demonstrations that swept the Middle East and North Africa through 2011 set the scene for some impressive television news reporting from, in particular, CNN, CBS, and Al Jazeera, according to the 16 member Peabody board.

The BBC won two awards, one for a documentary examining Somalia and a second for BBC.com, while entertainment shows including The Colbert Report, Portlandia, Parks & Recreation, Homeland, Game of Thrones and Jeopardy! were also recognized by the Peabody board.

The Peabody Awards will be presented on 21 May by actor Sir Patrick Stewart at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.