The National Geographic Specials

When members of the Peabody Board were viewing the four National Geographic Specials submitted in this year’s competition—Chesapeake Borne, Creatures of the Mangrove, Jerusalem: Within These Walls and Realm of The Alligator—they were struck by both the exceptional photography and the careful craftsmanship which seemed to permeate almost every moment. It was as if the viewer had been transported directly into the deep confines of the Okefenokee Swamp, or into the confines of Jerusalem, across the thousands of miles to reach the tiny island of Siarau off the north coast of Borneo, or into the busy commercial highway that often now seems to characterize life on Chesapeake Bay: There is a mystical presence in these programs that is easy to grasp as one views them but difficult to explain to those who are uninitiated. It would not be untoward to say that the Peabody Board recognized they had found excellence and they elected to reward that excellence with a Peabody certificate and medallion for The National Geographic Specials.