Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/examining-the-road-to-becoming-a-nobel-laureate Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Jeffrey Brown speaks to Scott London, co-editor of "Nobel Lectures in Peace," about the selection process for the Nobel Peace Prize. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: That follows two more takes on the Nobel Peace Prize.Jeffrey Brown starts with the whos and hows of the prize. JEFFREY BROWN: And, given today's surprise, we thought a Peace Prize primer was in order.And, for that, we're joined by Scott London, a journalist who's covered and written on the Nobel Committee and Prize for many years. He's co-editor of the book "Nobel Lectures in Peace," which he worked on with his grandfather Irwin Abrams, a leading scholar on the Peace Prize.Scott, start by telling us who actually makes this decision. Who are the people on the committee? SCOTT LONDON: Well, there are five people on the committee. It's appointed by the Storting, which is the Norwegian parliament.And they select from nominations that are sent in from around the world. And a number of people are qualified to nominate. So, the nominations come in literally from around the world. This year, they had a record 205 nominees, mostly individuals, but also about 33 organizations. JEFFREY BROWN: You've — this is — this is the only prize, I guess, that comes out of Norway. And I gather you have met some of the people who had served on the committee.How diverse a group is it? Who — who are they? What can you tell us about them, their background, personally and professionally? SCOTT LONDON: Well, they're — many of them are outstanding sort of public figures in Norway, very well-respected. Many of them have had long and distinguished careers in — in public life in Norway and in politics.Some of them — you know, this is a committee — the Norwegian Nobel Committee is elected by the Norwegian parliament. So, mostly, these are people who have already been in politics a long time. They don't have governmental power anymore.So, most of them, you know, have arrived at this position on the committee after long and distinguished public careers. JEFFREY BROWN: Now, there is always that — or often that question, are they sending a message, ideological or otherwise? Is there any evidence to help us figure that out one way or the other?