Thoughts on the Peabody winners
The 2007 Peabody Award winners were announced this week, and while I wish "The Wire" would pick one up every year, in general the board has done another fine job of recognizing excellence in broadcasting, no matter how micro-sized the outlet.
- There were 35 winners this year, including several you're unlikely ever to catch in repeats, like "For My Country? Latinos in the Military" on mun2 (aka the youth channel of NBC's Telemundo), Channel 4's "FourDocs" (British dramas get wide play in the U.S., but their documentaries, not so much) and "Braindamaj'd" on CBC Newsworld (nothing Canadian gets wide play in the U.S.).
- Once again a low-rated critics' pick won: NBC's "Friday Night Lights" (as well as two of the network's under-rated Thursday comedies, "Office" and "Scrubs," pictured).
- Showtime won a Peabody for "Brotherhood," which was a good show but one senses this is sort of a noodge to Showtime to keep trying harder! HBO programs and films won five Peabodys.
- If you have never heard Daniel Zwerdling's series for NPR on the appalling state of mental health services at some U.S. military bases, here's the link. Along with Brian Ross' Peabody-winning reports for ABC (and ABC.com) on Rep. Mark Foley, these were news reports that brought action first, awards second.
The Martin Luther King episode of "Boondocks" was honored on the day King was killed. Less well known than this anniversary, and less well known than "I Have a Dream," is the speech that King gave on this date 40 years ago, exactly one year before his assassination -- the divisive, incendiary and, I think, prophetic "Beyond Vietnam" speech.
