'Thrones,' 'Colbert' win Peabody Awards

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ATHENS, Ga., April 4 (UPI) -- "Game of Thrones," "Austin City Limits" and "The Colbert Report" were among the winners of the 71st annual Peabody Awards announced Wednesday in Georgia.

The awards recognize the best in electronic media for the year 2011. The Peabodies are presented annually by the university's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Also named as awards recipients for 2011 were "Homeland," "Treme," "Parks and Recreation," "Somalia: Land of Anarchy," "Jeopardy!," "My Perestroika," "People's Republic of Cheating," "Misjudged Cases," "Surviving the Tsunami," "Portlandia," "A Year in the Clouds," "Intersexions," CNN, TED.com, BBC.com, NPR, "CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley" and Al Jazeera English.

"The range of the Peabody Awards' search for excellence has never been wider or deeper than this year," Horace Newcomb, director of the Peabody Awards, said in a statement. "Local news organizations covered stories with international import as well as those significant within their communities. Documentaries and news reports on issues missed or overlooked by big organizations were available on Web sites. Comedians engaged in political actions. Radio proved again the power of the individual human voice. Drama took on issues of power and control. Images of disaster appeared alongside images of hope and freedom."

The awards are to be handed out May 21 at an event to be presided over by Sir Patrick Stewart at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York.