Reel Time documentary wins Peabody Award, GMA's third

GMA News TV Channel 11 has won its first George Foster Peabody Award for the documentary "Salat" aired on the program Reel Time. 

  The Peabody Awards - considered the Oscars of broadcast and electronic journalism - recognizes excellence, distinguished achievement and meritorious public service.   The winning episode of Reel Time, "Salat" (Bone Dry) is described on the Peabody website as an “unflinching portrait of a woman with six mouths to feed which personifies a brutal statistic: two out of every ten Filipino children are malnourished.” Although a first for the fledgling news channel GMA News TV, it is the third George Foster Peabody for GMA News and Public Affairs, as well as being the third for the Philippines.   Salat begins with a powerful scene: ten-year-old Mary Rose running around the neighborhood, trying to borrow soap for her bath. Her family is so poor they cannot even afford to buy their own soap. Mary Rose goes to school that day without breakfast or lunch money and falls asleep in class from hunger.   “There are many other malnourished children like Mary Rose who need government attention. This award encourages us as documentary filmmakers to do a better job in telling these important stories,” says Reel Time Program Manager Nowell Cuanang (already a Peabody winner for previously directing I-Witness’ Ambulansyang de Paa.)   Executive Producer Sharon Masula thanks all the viewers who began helping Mary Rose and her family after watching Salat, “Because of the viewers, we feel there is greater value in the documentaries we produce.”   The producers will be accepting the Peabody Award in a ceremony to be held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York this May 20, 2013.  The award-winning documentary program Reel Time airs every Sunday night only on GMA News TV Channel 11.