‘48 Hours,’ ‘thirtysomething,’ KCBS Among Peabody Winners

Episodes of the CBS news magazine programs “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes,” ABC’s drama series “thirtysomething” and KCBS-TV Channel 2 in Los Angeles were among 29 recipients Friday of the George Foster Peabody Awards for distinguished broadcasting in 1988.

The awards were announced by the University of Georgia’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Three individuals were among the winners: veteran ABC sportscaster Jim McKay; Don Hewitt, executive producer of “60 Minutes,” and publisher and former ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, who was honored for his support of the educational use of radio and television.

KCBS garnered its fifth Peabody, regarded as the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism, for “MCA and the Mob,” an investigative news series it broadcast last year exploring alleged ties between MCA/Universal and organized crime syndicates. The Peabody judges cited it as a “courageous investigative report on the infiltration of organized crime into the entertainment industry.”

KCBS reporter Chris Blatchford, managing editor Michael Singer and news director Erik Sorenson will be given the award May 22 at a luncheon in New York.

CBS’ “48 Hours” won for programs called “Abortion Battle” and “On Runaway Street,” while “60 Minutes” was lauded for a piece called “Mr. Snow Goes to Washington.”

ABC’s baby-boomer series “thirtysomething,” which won the Emmy Award last year as TV’s best drama series, was praised by the Peabody judges for “vivid writing, fine production and exceptional performance.”

Other Peabody award winners included:

--HBO for the documentary “Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam” and for the AIDS documentary “Suzi’s Story,” in association with Pro Image Productions.

--Turner Network Television for its special, “The Making of a Legend: Gone With the Wind.”

--National Public Radio for its documentary about Americans climbing Mt. Everest, “Cowboys on Everest.”

--MacNeil/Lehrer Productions for “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour: Election ’88 Coverage.”

--The Children’s Television Workshop for “3-2-1 Contact Extra: I Have AIDS, a Teen-ager’s Story.”

--The South Carolina ETV Network and the Mosaic Group for “Children’s Express Newsmagazine: Campaign ‘88,” a newscast reported by children.

--CBS Entertainment and Telecom Entertainment, in association with Yorkshire Television, for the television movie, “The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank.”

--”Frontline” for “Frontline: The Choice,” a documentary on PBS about the 1988 presidential candidates.

--Public Affairs Television in New York for its series of interviews entitled, “Bill Moyers’ World of Ideas,” broadcast on PBS.

--NBC for the TV movie “The Murder of Mary Phagan,” about the slaying of a young girl in Georgia.