By NATHAN SOLHEIM
Staff Writer

Television programs from the controversial comedy "Ellen" to the hard-news "60 Minutes" today will win Peabody Awards, administered by the University and considered broadcasting’s highest honor.

The Peabodys recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in broadcasting and cable.

The awards were started by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1940.

NBC’s "Homicide: Life on the Street" won its third Peabody. A record 1,300 entries were judged, and 34 winners were gleaned from the field.

Other winners included HBO’s "Don King: Only in America," the TNT documentary "George Wallace," the coming-out episode of "Ellen" and the ABC drama "Nothing Sacred," which was canceled last season.

"A Peabody is the singular or pinnacle achievement a single person in broadcasting can receive," said Peabody Awards Director Barry Sherman.

Atlanta winners this year include billionaire Ted Turner, who received an individual award for his contributions to cable television.

Sherman said Turner was happy about the award and reacted by saying, "Hey, I love the University, and I love it even more now."

The winners were chosen by a 15-member board of academics, executives and critics, who stayed at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

Twenty-five University students made recommendations to the national advisory board and aided in the pre-screening of applicants.

Winners range from large networks to local radio stations. The British Broadcasting Company, KFGO, a small Fargo, N.D., radio station, and New England Cable News – the first local cable Peabody – all were winners.

"The committee judges look at the entire genre of programming and decide what represents excellence," said Journalism Dean J. Thomas Russell. "That’s why you have diversity – the board goes in with a totally open mind."

Winners will be honored May 11 at a luncheon hosted by Dan Rather at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.