PBS NewsHour Named Recipient of Two Peabody Awards

Arlington, VA (June 24, 2021) — This week, PBS NewsHour received two Peabody Awards for its global and economic coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its 2020 reporting on the desperate journey faced by migrants along the Darien Gap. The award for NewsHour’s coverage of the pandemic was presented yesterday by ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts (linked HERE) and the award for Desperate Journey was presented today by actress and activist America Ferrera (linked HERE). Earlier this month, PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff was named the recipient of the inaugural Peabody Award for Journalistic Integrity.

“On behalf of the entire team at PBS NewsHour, thank you to the Peabody Board of Jurors for this generous appreciation and recognition of our work” said Executive Producer Sara Just. “At the NewsHour, we pride ourselves on our commitment to telling stories of consequence, at home and abroad. Over this past year, there has been no shortage of important stories to be told, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to do this work with the support of our colleagues at WETA, PBS, CPB, and all of our funders.”

About NewsHour’s COVID-19 coverage, today’s Peabody announcement said, “Relentless and comprehensive reporting from PBS NewsHour gave us the best news coverage of a once-in-a-century global pandemic. Their work on “Global Pandemic” covered the pandemic’s human toll on five continents, in countries already hit hard by war, famine, and death. In the United States, “Making Sense: The Victims of COVID” put a spotlight on the millions who lost their jobs, the devastating impact on restaurants, and the near shutdown of the travel industry, while shedding new light on how the pandemic revealed and exacerbated astonishing racial disparities in American health outcomes.”

And about NewsHour’s Desperate Journey series, the Peabody announcement added, “The plight of migrants and refugees is often fraught with danger, but the Darien Gap, a treacherous and lawless 66-mile trail through the wilderness on the border of Columbia and Panama, might be the most dangerous path to freedom on the planet. PBS special correspondent Nadja Drost and videographer Bruno Federico put themselves at great risk to join this caravan. What could be more consequential in helping viewers to understand the desperation of these migrants than the image of them stepping over the skeletal remains of those who have gone before them and failed?”

Of this year’s 60 nominees, 30 Peabody Award recipients will be announced throughout this week. The George Foster Peabody Awards are administered by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

PBS NewsHour’s Peabody Award winning work includes:

PBS NewsHour’s Coverage of COVID-19: “Global Pandemic” and “MAKING SENSE: The Victims of the COVID Economy”

PBS NewsHour’s global dispatches sought to tell stories that touched on the diversity of response to the pandemic worldwide. Stories of success and innovation; of tyranny and oppression; and of deep sadness and loss, from five continents.

Credits: senior foreign affairs producer Morgan Till; deputy senior producer Dan Sagalyn; senior producer James Blue; producers Layla Quran, Ali Rogin, Trine Villeman, Frank Carlson, Herminia Fernandez, Nina Maria Potts, Rachel Silverman, Ulises Escamilla, Crystal Roh, Keith Park, Alessandra Maggiorani, Tilo Gummel, Leena Saidi, and Ahmed Baider; editors Hamada Hanoura, Eric O’Connor, Jon Miles, Bob Hartman, Dan Knapp, John Morgan, Mark Anderson, Matt Leeke, and Abubaker Muwonge; videographers Tilo Gummel, Abdulrazaq Alshani, Leon Kigozi, Mohammed Khaled, Tilo Gummel, and Omar Garcia; foreign affairs and defense correspondent Nick Schifrin; special correspondents Jane Ferguson, Malcolm Brabant, Marcia Biggs, Bruce Harrison, Michael Baleke, and Max Duncan; and executive producer Sara Just.

In “Making Sense: The Victims of the COVID Economy” PBS NewsHour’s business and economics team covered the enormous repercussions of COVID-19 from a variety of angles. Expert interviews and personal testimony helped paint a vivid picture of what was unfolding in businesses and in people’s lives. The result is an intimate, incisive portrait of an economic disaster happening in real-time.

Credits: senior producer for national affairs Murrey Jacobson; producers Diane Lincoln Estes and Lee Koromvokis; business and economics correspondent Paul Solman; videographers Denis Levkovich and Kevin McAleese; editor John Morgan; and executive producer Sara Just.

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PBS NewsHour’s Desperate Journey

The Darien Gap, which straddles northern Colombia and southern Panama, is named for the 66-mile long break of the PanAmerican highway. This vast expanse has become the nexus of one of the world’s longest, most dangerous migration routes. As Europe and the U.S. closed their doors to asylum-seekers, thousands were pushed to travel through South America to reach the U.S. But the only way to head north into Panama is by traversing one of the world’s most-hostile jungles – by foot. In this two-part series, NewsHour documented the extraordinary journey of migrants, as they converge in the Darien Gap from many places to tell the larger story of the global migration crisis.

Credits: senior foreign affairs producer Morgan Till; special correspondent Nadja Drost; producers Bruno Federico and Carlos Villalón; videographer Bruno Federico; and executive producer Sara Just.

Press contact: Nick Massella, nmassella(at)newshour(dot)org