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The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media.

The intent of the Peabody Awards is to recognize the most outstanding achievements in electronic media, including radio, television and cable. The competition is also open to entries produced for alternative means of electronic distribution, including corporate video, educational media, home-video release, World Wide Web and CD–ROM. Programs produced and intended for wide theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for a Peabody Award.

The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media.

The intent of the Peabody Awards is to recognize the most outstanding achievements in electronic media, including radio, television and cable. The competition is also open to entries produced for alternative means of electronic distribution, including corporate video, educational media, home-video release, World Wide Web and CD–ROM. Programs produced and intended for wide theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for a Peabody Award.

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 and as a result the quality of competing works is extraordinarily high. The Peabody Awards are then presented only to "the best of the best."

The Peabody Awards Presentation Luncheon will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York City, on Monday, May 18, 2009. Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News will MC the event.

These four 2008 Peabody winners have China connections:

Sichuan Earthquake Coverage (Sichuan Television)
Sichuan Television (SCTV)
When a massive earthquake devastated its province, Chengdu-based Sichuan Television dispatched its camera crews and for several days was the only source of images for TV news organizations around the world.

China: The Earthquake of Chengdu (National Public Radio)
NPR
On assignment in China when earthquakes devastated Sichuan province, members of an NPR team were on the air in Chengdu when the tremors began, and they provided riveting, first-hand accounts from around the region for days.

The Red Race (Shanghai TV Station)
NDR Fernsehen, Shanghai Media Group
Without narration or judgment, this documentary, riveting from its first frame, depicted the rigorous training of China's potential gymnastic stars, age 6.

Nanking (HBO)
A Ted Leonsis Production in association with HBO Documentary Films
Human decency rises to confront human atrocity in this powerful, newly documented remembrance of a small group of Westerners who saved thousands of Chinese during the 1937 "rape of Nanking" by Japanese invaders.

For more information regarding the Peabody Awards program, the Peabody Awards Collection, and the Peabody Center for Media and Society visit www.peabody.uga.edu.