Russell Simmons and HBO have recently won an acclaimed Peabody award for the show “Def Poetry Jam”. The Peabody committee felt that “Def Poetry Jam” proves that “the art form is alive, well — and can be amusing, enlightening, loud, funny –and important” on television”.

Horace Newcomb, the Peabody director said in a statement to the media, “Once again, the Peabody Awards cross all media boundaries and explore all media avenues to recognize excellence wherever it can be found. We set the standard for the media industries and will continue to cite the most outstanding work in every genre, every medium, and every venue.” “Def Poetry Jam” began its third season on HBO with Mos Def as the host, on Friday at 12:30am with an encore presentation on HBO2 Saturday at midnight.

A 15 member Advisory Board chooses the Peabody Awards each spring that meets at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The Board members are Television critics, broadcast and cable industry executives and fine arts experts. Other shows that received awards were NBC’s Boomtown, Boston Public and Six Feet Under.