Satirist Stephen Colbert, host of the The Colbert Report, has been awarded the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in the 67th Annual Peabody Awards competition. The award recognizes Colbert and the The Colbert Report for being “electronic media’s sharpest satirists,” according to a recent press announcement from Comedy Central, which carries the weeknight series.
“I proudly accept this award and begrudgingly forgive the Peabody Committee for taking three years to recognize greatness. On a personal note, I’d like to say that I’ve long been a fan of Mr. Peabody, as well as his boy Sherman,” Colbert said.
The Colbert Report is the third Comedy Central program to receive the honor. Previous winners include Jon Stewart’s” Indecision election-year coverage in 2000 and 2004, as well as a 2005 Peabody Award for the animated series South Park.
The Peabody Awards were announced by the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which has administered the Peabody Award program since its inception in 1940. The awards ceremony will take place in New York City on June 16.
This article appears in March 28 • 2008.