Stephen Colbert wins Peabody Award for SuperPAC satire

REUTERS - Comedy show "The Colbert Report" won a prestigious Peabody Award on Wednesday for its segments on SuperPACs, in which host Stephen Colbert launched his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against political spending.

The Peabodys, the oldest in broadcasting, recognize excellence in television and radio broadcasting, as well as by webcasters, producing organizations and individuals.

It was the second Peabody for "The Colbert Report," Comedy Central's satirical look at current events and the news.

"Launching his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against megabucks politics, Colbert mixed cerebral comedy with inspired sight gags, interviews and preposterously funny monologues," the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which administers the awards, said in a statement.

Colbert, who assumes the persona of a pompous, conservative talk show host on the program, built the segments around his establishment of the Colbert SuperPAC.

Colbert won his first Peabody in 2008.

Other winners ranged from television game show "Jeopardy!" and IFC's satire "Portlandia" to news coverage of the Arab Spring popular uprisings by Al Jazeera English, CNN, CBS News and National Public Radio.

Multiple Peabodys were won by PBS, HBO, NPR and CNN, while Human Rights Watch was cited for its detailed online reports.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in New York on May 21 hosted by Patrick Stewart.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud, Editing by Jill Serjeant)