Winner 1989

Scott Simon’s Radio Essays

National Public Radio

In one of its most elemental forms, the art of radio consists of one person speaking and another listening. As presented on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon communicates and interprets our increasingly complex world with simple elegance and eloquence. His essays have set a standard for others to emulate: cogent and evocative writing, and an admirable diversity of subject matter, all sparingly intermixed with actualities and interviews. The result is radio that makes one think and feel, an experience all too rare in modern radio. Scott Simon’s voice is singular, but requires a team of able colleagues to transmit. Especially worthy of mention are senior producer Cindy Carpien and executive producer Robert Ferrante. For restoring the art of the essay to the radio medium, a Peabody to Scott Simon’s radio essays, as featured on Weekend Edition Saturday.