Terrific TV   

The list of this year's George Foster Peabody Award winners, announced March 30, is abundant with familiar names: ABC, NPR, BBC, MTV. But one stuck out: GMA Network.

GMA Network?

Yes, GMA Network, one of the Philippines' largest television operations and runner-up for "Broadcaster of the Year" in the 1999 Asian Television Awards, received a Peabody for "terrific and brave" investigative reporting.

Three programs were submitted by GMA from its "I-Witness" series: "Kidneys for Sale," the story of impoverished Filipino men who have resorted to selling their kidneys; "Fist," a program on the brutal and sometimes fatal national sport of boxing in the Philippines; and "Dreams of Shelter," an in-depth look at the slums of Manila. Also submitted was a piece about abused and exploited child factory workers from the network's newsmagazine, "Brigada Siete."

The judges were "very taken by this entry," says William F. Woo, Peabody board member and journalism professor at Stanford University. Woo says he's pleased to be able to recognize GMA's service to the public with broadcast journalism's top award.

The network's investigative work proves dedication "in an area in which journalism resources are not overflowing," he says. "Journalists in the Philippines work under some very tough circumstances."