The Peabody Awards: Stories That Matter

NEW YORK: Sir David Attenborough, Amy Schumer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Oliver were among the honorees at the 74th annual Peabody Awards Ceremony, which took place last night in New York City and recognized the best storytelling in electronic media that aired during 2014. 

Although the Peabody Awards honor stories that matter in radio, television and online, most of which are news and hard-hitting documentaries, the evening, hosted by Fred Armisen, had several moments of hilarity. Tina Fey presented a Peabody to Amy Schumer, for Inside Amy Schumer’s sketch on rape in the military. The two locked lips, in a mocking recreation of the Madonna-Britney Spears kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards years ago.

“Many people will tell you that you can never ever joke about rape, but it is all about context and point of view, and Amy and the Inside Amy Schumer show’s brilliant sketch about sexual abuse in the military as filtered through violent combat video games was inarguably funny and so, so rapey,” said Fey.

Charlie Rose introduced John Oliver, who won for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, saying Oliver is really a journalist, even though he is a comedian. Oliver quipped, “I didn’t hear what Charlie said, I can only assume that it’s bullshit!” Oliver then bowed and curtseyed to Rose and thanked Jon Stewart, “basically, for everything.”

Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong presented a Peabody to Sarah Koenig for her podcast Serial, a ten-hour audio documentary that got some 60 million downloads and explored the evidence in the case of a teenager convicted of murder. Strong, who plays Koenig in sketches on SNL, praised Koenig for “making podcasts that can be gripping, must-listen-to storytelling that very cool hip people like me can get obsessed with.” Koenig noted in her acceptance speech that “people do have the patience for journalism that takes time.”

Many stories of journalism were honored during the evening, from coverage of ISIS by NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, to VICE News reporter Medyan Dairieh, who embedded himself among ISIS fighters. CNN received Peabody Awards for its coverage of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram and for its investigative reporting into the Veteran Administration’s neglect of military veterans. Coverage of the Ebola epidemic by NPR and the BBC was honored, as was WNYC Radio’s investigation into Chris Christie and “Bridgegate”.

A broad range of documentaries received Peabody Awards, including PBS’s American Experience: Freedom Summer and United States of Secrets; HBO’s Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown and The Newburgh Sting; South African Broadcasting Corporation's Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa; Channel 4’s Children on the Frontline, about children in a Syrian refugee camp; and Netflix’s Virunga, about the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the planet’s last remaining mountain gorillas.

In a taped acceptance speech for his lifetime achievement award, Sir David Attenborough noted that the environment is in danger, but so many people don’t understand why and how. Television plays a critical role in explaining those dangers and why they impact us all.

The following scripted shows were also honored: The Americans, Black Mirror, Fargo, The Honorable Woman, Jane the Virgin, The Knick and Rectify.

In accepting his Peabody, The Americans’ showrunner Joel Fields noted that even though his show is set against the backdrop of the Cold War and the actions of spies, “it’s ultimately about identity, trust, family and truth. Each of us [awarded tonight] is circling the truth. Truth may sting, but it’s society’s best disinfectant.”

Last night’s ceremony will air on Pivot TV on June 21.

The Peabody Awards were created in 1940 by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) when they realized that the Pulitzer Prize had no category for radio. The NAB turned to the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism, who created the awards in the name of George Foster Peabody, a successful investment banker and benefactor of the university who had recently passed away.

Since then, the Peabody Awards have been independently administered by the Grady College of Journalism. Every year the Peabody Board of Jurors review nearly 1,200 entries. After hours of viewing or listening, as the awards have grown to include television and online, the board chooses the winners by unanimous vote.