1984 PEABODY HONOREES

The NBC hospital drama “St. Elsewhere,” the ABC news program “Nightline” and host Ted Koppel, and veteran ABC executive Roone Arledge are among the 29 winners of the George Foster Peabody Awards for 1984.

The winners of the award for outstanding achievements in radio and television programming were announced this week by the University of Georgia School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which administers the Peabody program.

ABC won three Peabody awards, while CBS and NBC received one each. Showtime Cable Network and Turner Broadcasting System received one award each, and the public television station WNET in New York won two.

About 690 entries were submitted this year for the Peabody awards, which began in 1941. The winners were chosen by a national advisory board of broadcasters, journalists and well-known figures in entertainment, education and government.

The awards will be presented May 1 at a luncheon in New York City. Here are the winners.

KNX Newsradio, Los Angeles, for “The Immigration Problem,” a report on the regional and national consequences of the influx of illegal aliens into Southern California.

WAFX Radio, Fort Wayne, Ind., for “D-Day: 40 Years Later,” a retrospective on the Normandy invasion.

Brigham Young University, for “Bradbury 13,” a radio series based on the stories of science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury.

WNYC AM/83, New York City, for “Small Things Considered,” cited by the judges as “a creative and witty program designed for radio’s most forgotten and under-appreciated audience: children.”

KFGO, Fargo, N.D., for its nonstop 24-hour coverage of a massive blizzard.

WFMT, Chicago, and Ray Nordstrand, for utilizing modern technology to bring fine arts radio to listeners in North America and 21 nations overseas.

“The Protestant Hour,” produced by the Protestant Radio and Television Center in Atlanta, cited for “40 years of outstanding religious programming to the people of the world.”

KDFW-TV, Dallas, for an investigative series on the emergency medical service division of the Dallas Fire Department.

WMAQ-TV, Chicago, for “Political Parasites,” an inquiry into the Illinois legislature that resulted in reforms and taxpayer savings.

WDVM-TV, Washington, for reports on a medical clinic that was operating without a license.

WCAX-TV, Burlington, Vt., for “Patterns of Practice,” an investigation of the length of hospitalization for people undergoing routine operations in Vermont hospitals.

“ABC Theater” for “Heartsounds,” an Embassy Television production, cited as “a sensitive and highly emotional teleplay dramatizing the triumph of love over illness and despair.”

WNET, New York, for “Heritage: Civilization and the Jews,” a nine-hour series examining 3,000 years of history.

WNET for “The Brain,” described as “a fascinating, instructive and entertaining trip to the landscape of the mind.”

KGW-TV, Portland, Ore., for “Rajneesh Update,” a series on the role a religious-political group played in county elections and community life.

WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, for “The Hollow Victory: Vietnam Under Communism,” a documentary based on one of the most extensive tours of that nation by American journalists since the Vietnam War ended.

“ABC News Closeup” for “To Save Our Schools, To Save Our Children,” a “substantial inquiry” during prime time into the nation’s education problems.

“Frontline” for “the overall excellence with which it continues to serve the people of the United States, presenting documentary television programming of significance and importance.”

CBS Entertainment and the David Gerber Co. for “George Washington,” praised by judges for its “unusual scope, historical insight and intelligence.”

WCVB, Boston, for “Somerville High,” an examination of daily life in an urban high school.

NBC and MTM Enterprises for “St. Elsewhere.” Judges said the series “examines the medical profession in human terms, avoiding television’s usual trends toward high technology and hero worship.”

Central Independent Television of England for “Seeds of Despair,” one of the earliest reports on famine in Ethiopia.

Showtime Cable Network for “Faerie Tale Theater,” a “thoroughly entertaining retelling of classic fairy tales, making for highly enjoyable family viewing.”

Turner Broadcasting System, Atlanta, for “Costeau-Amazon,” three documentaries on Jacques Costeau’s trip down the length of the 4,000-mile Amazon river.

Ted Koppel and the ABC program “Nightline,” cited as “an invaluable source for timely and insightful news commentary.”

“The Roger Rosenblatt Essays,” a feature of the “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” on public television. Judges cited Rosenblatt for “a combination of still and moving images” and “skillful narrative” that have produced “some of television’s finest commentary.”

“A Walk Through the 20th Century With Bill Moyers,” produced by the Corporation for Entertainment and Learning-Bill Moyers, New York, a series that has “brought viewers information coated with excitement (and) made learning fun.”

Granada Television of England for “The Jewel in the Crown,” a “masterwork of extraordinary scope” that depicts the last years of the British empire in India.

Roone Arledge of ABC for “significant contributions to television news and sports programming.”