Hearst-Argyle Television Receives Peabody Award for Political Journalism
April 01 2009 - 1:48PM
PR Newswire (US)
Honor Marks Hearst-Argyle's Fifth Peabody in Seven Years NEW YORK,
April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.
has earned a coveted Peabody Award, from the University of
Georgia's Grady College of Journalism, for its "Commitment 2008"
election- and issues-coverage series. "Commitment 2008" was
Hearst-Argyle's fifth biennial political coverage project; the
series began with "Commitment 2000," a cornerstone of which was the
Company's pledge to carry a minimum of five minutes nightly of
candidate discourse in the 30 days prior to election day; this
commitment was expanded to an unprecedented 10 minutes as part of
"Commitment 2006." In recognizing the Company and its station
group, Peabody judges cited Hearst-Argyle as "exemplars of
public-service broadcasting." Today's honor marks the fifth Peabody
for Hearst-Argyle or a Hearst-Argyle station within the past seven
years. Last year, Hearst-Argyle's WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, was honored
for its investigation into Pennsylvania's state-run student loan
agency; in 2005, WBAL-TV, Baltimore, was recognized for its
investigation of pollution in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay; in 2004,
WISN-TV, Milwaukee, was recognized for its investigation of home
smoke detectors; and in 2003, WESH-TV, Orlando, was honored for its
investigation into Florida homebuilding practices. In making
today's announcement, Horace Newcomb, Director of the Peabody
Awards, said, "The Hearst-Argyle group offers a model of community
service that reminds us of broadcasting's great value and
responsibility to our communities." "Commitment 2008" last month
also earned Hearst-Argyle its fifth consecutive USC Annenberg
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political
Journalism. Hearst-Argyle remains the sole recipient in its
category for the Cronkite Award, which was established following
the 2000 election season and which has become recognized as the
premier honor specifically for television political journalism. The
Peabody awards will be presented at an event hosted by NBC Anchor
Brian Williams at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York on May 18. More
about the Peabodys can be found here:
http://www.peabody.uga.edu/news/event.php?id=59 Hearst-Argyle
Television, Inc. a leading local media company, owns 26 television
stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio
stations. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18%
of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest
television station groups. It also owns 37 websites and 20 digital
multicast channels providing news, weather and entertainment
programming. Hearst-Argyle is majority-owned by Hearst Corporation.
The Company's Web address is http://www.hearstargyle.com/.
DATASOURCE: Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. CONTACT: Tom Campo of
Campo Communications, LLC, +1-212-590-2464, , for Hearst-Argyle
Television, Inc. Web Site: http://www.hearstargyle.com/
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