Radio: New Order of Merit

A new type of accolade, which radio piously hopes will rank with journalism’s Pulitzer Prizes and cinema’s Oscars, was awarded for the first time last week. The trophies were four bronze medallions, each the size of a hockey puck. Their name: the George Foster Peabody Award “for conspicuous service in radio broadcasting.” Selected for the first honors were: CBS (among chains), Cincinnati’s 50,000-watt WLW (among big stations), Cleveland’s 5,000-watt WGAR (among middle-sized stations), Columbia, null 250-watt KFRU (among small fry).

The idea of the awards was conceived by Lambdin Kay, public-service director for station WSB in Atlanta, and strenuously pushed by University of Georgia’s publicity-minded dean of journalism, John E. Drewry. The University of Georgia itself awarded them, dubbing them after its late patron, Philanthropist George Foster Peabody, great & good friend of Franklin Roosevelt, who helped to found the Warm Springs Foundation.