Jeffrey P. Jones to Be Named UGA's Peabody Awards Director in July

Succeeds Newcomb, who is retiring after 12 years leading the program

By Lindsay Rubino -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/13/2013 10:41:39 AM

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.