Winner 1981

Eighth Decade Consortium: “Fed Up With Fear”

KOMO-TV, Seattle, Washington, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, WCVB-TV, Boston, Massachusetts, WJLA-TV, Washington, DC, WRAL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina

Fed Up With Fear was produced by five television stations which joined together as The Eighth Decade Consortium. It sought to show how the citizens of five diverse communities are seeking to battle crime and, in the opinion of the Peabody Board, the Consortium did its job exceptionally well. The program went well beyond the usual documentary in that it asked viewers to become involved themselves, and KOMO-TV in Seattle provided a resource handbook and a toll-free hotline to help its audience take that first step. The example of banding together and utilizing the best resources that each station has to offer on a series is worth emulation. The Peabody Award for Fed Up With Fear seeks to recognize both the excellence of the program itself as well as the innovative approach to this production. For an outstanding job in an area with which every citizen is concerned, a Peabody Award to The Eighth Decade Consortium.