The Peabody Awards is moving out West. As it returns to its first in-person event since 2019, the Peabody Awards will take place in the Los Angeles area this year at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Sunday, June 11. This marks the first time the Peabodys have been held in Los Angeles, having previously been held in New York (and virtually during the pandemic).
Among changes this year: A new digital and interactive storytelling category, which was introduced last year and includes gaming, virtual reality, and social video. This year it will be included in the main Peabody ceremony.
Former NBC Nightly News anchor and correspondent John Seigenthaler will chair this year’s Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, having previously spent sixyears as a member of the Board of Jurors.
“Moving the Peabody Awards to Los Angeles, a city practically built on the power of storytelling, is an exciting evolution of Peabody’s commitment to curating the most powerful and moving stories told in broadcasting and digital media. Los Angeles gives us the opportunity to reimagine the awards show and incorporate more talent and presenters into a ceremony that promises to be nothing short of phenomenal,”Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody, said in a statement. “We’re also thrilled to welcome Carrie Lozano, an incredibly accomplished documentary filmmaker and journalist, to our board of jurors, which will be led by the brilliant Peabody veteran and journalist John Seigenthaler.”
The Peabody Awards are chosen each year by a Board of Jurors in the categories of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, immersive and interactive media, and public service programming. based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, the Peabodys look at “stories that powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day.”
Seigenthaler is now a managing partner at the global communications firm, Finn Partners. He is a member of the Freedom Forum Advisory Board, and a member of the judging committee for the RFK Journalism Awards. His credits at NBC included “Meet The Press,” “Dateline,” “Today,” “Weekend Today,” MSNBC, CNBC and Discovery Channel.
“It is a special honor to be part of this diverse and talented team of judges,” Seigenthaler said. “The Peabodys are unique because we celebrate ‘stories that matter,’ in a complicated and ever-changing world. once again, we look forward to the challenging task of choosing the best of the best.”
Also joining the board of jurors is documentary filmmaker and journalist Carol Lozano, who is also director of the Sundance Institute’s documentary Film and Artist Programs.
The Peabody Board of Jurors is appointed by the program’s executive director to a renewable three-year term of service.
Nominees for the 83rd Peabody Awards will be announced inApril, with the winners announced in May. The awards ceremony will be produced by Bob Bain Productions.
