The 73rd annual Peabody Awards — which recognizes distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations, and individuals — were just announced, and three Independent Lens films were among the winners. The full list of winners of the prestigious awards are listed here, but the Independent Lens films honored with 2014 Peabodys are The House I Live In, How to Survive a Plague, and The Invisible War. Congratulations to filmmakers Eugene Jarecki, David France, and Kirby Dick, respectively.
“Independent Lens is exceptionally proud to have supported these three incredible documentaries,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens Senior Series Producer. “The Peabody Awards speak to the excellent journalism and storytelling of these films and filmmaker teams, and to the extraordinarily important role that independent filmmakers play in getting at the ground truth of the most vital issues of our time.”
The Peabody Awards, presented by the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and named after philanthropist George Foster Peabody, differ from most other media awards because there are no categories, just merits of excellence, with all winners picked by a prestigious panel of experts.
Update, May 19, 2014: At the Peabody Awards at last, Deputy Executive Producer of Independent Lens Lois Vossen with Peabody recipients, from L to R, David France (How to Survive a Plague), Eugene Jarecki (The House I Live In), and Kirby Dick (The Invisible War).