Personal Award: Phil Donahue

To most Americans the name “Donahue” is as common and ordinary as the word “water,” but there is nothing common or ordinary about the man Donahue. For a lot of Americans, their intake of Donahue everyday is as important as their intake of water. Phil Donahue has become synonymous with words such as “relevant” and “incisive” and even “entertaining.” His sensitive yet probing interviews, his ability to ask the tough questions without seeming to offend, his knack for getting to the heart of the matter are all important. Above all, Phil Donahue brings to his interviews and discussions what has been characterized as an “innate sense of honesty.” For making such an important mark on the lives of so many American television viewers, a Peabody Award to Phil Donahue.