News coverage of Hurricane Katrina also honored

A typically wide-ranging group of TV and radio broadcasts, including everything from deadly serious news documentaries to "South Park," was joined under the banner of "Peabody Award winner" Wednesday.

The awards, given by the University of Georgia for the past 65 years, represent the best of broadcasting in 2005 as determined by the 16-member panel of industry executives, critics and "experts in culture and the arts." Thirty-two programs were honored this year and will receive their awards in June at an event hosted by "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart.

"As is the case every year, submissions for consideration by the Peabody board provide insight into the astonishing array of electronic media productions," says Horace Newcomb, director of the Peabody Awards.

In addition to "South Park," which the board calls "TV's boldest, most politically incorrect satirical series," four other prime-time entertainment series were honored: "House" (FOX), "The Shield" (FX), "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi Channel) and "Boston Legal" (ABC).

Of "Battlestar," a critical and audience hit for Sci Fi, the Peabody judges say it "has revitalized sci-fi television with its parallax considerations of politics, religion, sex, even what it means to be 'human.'"

Four news organizations were honored for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina. CNN and the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" were lauded for the depth of their coverage, while WWL-TV in New Orleans and WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Miss., were cited for their resourcefulness in keeping local viewers informed in the storm's aftermath.

Other winners included the Sundance Channel's documentary series "The Staircase," HBO's "Yesterday" and "Classical Baby," the Martin Scorsese-directed PBS documentary "No Direction Home -- Bob Dylan" and the BBC America show "Viva Blackpool." A complete list of winners is at Peabody.uga.edu.