31 recipients of the 56th Annual Peabody Awards were presented with awards on May 12, 1997 at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City. The winners were chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for the year 1996. Diane Sawyer emceed. Recipients included Radio Smithsonian, WBEZ-FM, FOX, Ten Thirteen Productions, Telling Pictures, HBO, Channel 4, A & E Television Networks, WGBH-TV, ABC, NBC and KOMO-TV among others. Winning shows included FRONTLINE, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Pride and Prejudice, The Celluloid Closet, The X-Files and The Simpsons. Full list of 1996 winners: Link.