Frontline: Crisis in Central America

This is a repeat appearance by FRONTLINE as a winner in the Peabody Awards competition. The exceptional four-part series, aired in the Spring of 1985, traces the historical roots of the crisis in Central America. An outstanding team, which included executive producers Austin Hoyt (series), David Fanning (FRONTLINE), and Neal Freeman (The Blackwell Corp.), senior producer Elizabeth Deane and program producers Judith Vecchione, Marilyn Mellowes, Martin Smith, and Huston Simmons used rare historical film footage to document the long history of U.S. involvement, ranging from the Spanish-American War in 1898 to President Duarte’s meeting with the Salvadorian guerrillas at the town of LaPalma in 1984. Members of the Peabody Board found this to reflect the highest standards of broadcast journalism which put the accelerating pace of events in Central America into a much clearer perspective. For this comprehensive effort, a Peabody to FRONTLINE, including WGBH-TV and The Blackwell Corporation, for Crisis in Central America.