The University of
Georgia's George Foster Peabody Awards will welcome a new director in
July, naming television scholar Jeffrey P. Jones as successor to Horace
Newcomb. Newcomb is retiring after 12 years heading the program.
Jones is the fifth Peabody director in the history of the
awards, which honor excellence in radio and television stations, networks,
webcasters, producing organizations and individuals.
"The Peabody Awards are such a distinctive award in American
broadcasting and electronic media," Jones said. "They are a beacon not of
consumer taste culture or even artistic craftsmanship, but of civic value and
community contributions. The Peabodys celebrate the narratives that shape our
common humanity. It
is an honor and a privilege to join the University of Georgia and the Peabody
Awards program in continuing this historical legacy of recognizing the best
that electronic media have to offer us as national and global citizens
."
Currently, Jones is
an associate professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and a
director of its Institute of Humanities. He has also authored a book, Entertaining Politics: Satiric Television
and Political Engagement.
