As far as media awards go, the George Foster Peabody Awards are a strange one. There are no categories, rules, or strategy. Each of the 1,000 or so entrants is judged for “excellence in its own terms” and about 30 get awards. This means hard-to-categorize gems like The Colbert Report (Best Gonzo-Satire Cable News Show?) and Channing and Jenna Dewan Tatum‘s Rwanda documentary, Earth Made of Glass (Most Serious Documentary Produced By a GQ Cover Model?) take home big, mounted coins alongside heroic international reporting efforts, like Al Jazeera covering the Arab Spring, and Japan’s NHK covering the tsunami aftermath.
After that, the winner’s circle sort of devolves into a list of radio and television programs you’re likely to find on the blog Stuff White People Like. NBC’s municipal mockumentary, Parks and Recreation, won, as did HBO’s Hunger Games for grown-ups, Game of Thrones. Homeland, which is like 24 for liberals, including President Barack Obama. Treme, from the guy who brought white people The Wire. Austin City Limits AND Portlandia. PBS, NPR, TED Talks. Jeopardy!
We’ve compiled a slideshow of selected winners from the awards luncheon at the Waldorf yesterday. Forgive them if they look a little pale; the camera flash on the white background was enough to wash out anyone.
