ATHENS, Ga.—The Peabody Awards announced that it was expanding its award categories to recognize storytelling achievements across interactive, immersive and new media categories.
It also announced a board of ten newly appointed jurors composed of industry experts who will help with the expansion of the awards.
In announcing the new awards, Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody explained that “the foundation of the Peabody Awards is honoring stories that matter...With the introduction of digital and interactive media as its own distinctive category, we’re thrilled to be recognizing groundbreaking and important narratives in these digital spaces.”
The Peabody Interactive Board will identify exemplary projects across an evolving range of formats, including Gaming, Interactive Journalism, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Social Video, Interactive Documentary, Transmedia Storytelling, and more, the organization reported.
The inaugural awards will be given to legacy media projects that demonstrate the depth of these new formats, emphasizing the foundational standards for future award winners and highlighting stories that have helped define the digital and interactive genres.
Winners of the awards will be announced later this year in a separate celebration from the traditional spring awards ceremony, along with formal details on the submission calendar, eligibility, and award categories.
“We believe that impactful stories can come from anywhere, in new and evolving forms that push the limits of our understanding of how to tell stories,” explained Diana Williams, chairwoman of the new Peabody Interactive Board. “This expansion of the Peabody Awards recognizes the variety of storytelling media, and the storytellers who strive to move technology and their audiences into new spaces. Our newly minted board is excited to have the opportunity to award and celebrate these creative contributions to the storytelling form.”
