The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and its video coverage of federal immigration enforcement efforts in Georgia is the winner of a 2026 Peabody Award, one of the most prestigious honors in media.
The AJC’s “ICE Sweeps Georgia” social video series was a unanimous selection of Peabody jurors in the Interactive & Immersive category, the organization announced Thursday. Through nearly a dozen installments, the AJC told deeply reported stories from inside the crackdown by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the state.
“‘ICE Sweeps Georgia’ is a groundbreaking social video series by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that intimately captures the human impact of immigration enforcement through innovative storytelling techniques like vertical video and body camera footage,” Peabody jurors said. “By focusing on personal stories and perspectives, the series highlights the intersection of federal power and local lives, achieving significant engagement with its effective blend of traditional reporting and modern social media strategies.”
The series, which reached millions of views on social media platforms, featured contributions from teams throughout the AJC newsroom.
The Peabody Awards, founded in 1940, is based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. The awards recognize not only news media but storytelling across broadcast and streaming media. The awards “honor stories that defend public interest, encourage empathy and expand our understanding of the world,” the organization said.
As part of the series, the AJC chronicled the story of Mario Guevara, an influential Spanish language journalist detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and ultimately deported. Other stories in the series included a U.S. citizen wrongfully detained by ICE; a teen wrongfully arrested and detained by immigration agents; and the controversial raid last year of the battery factory at the Hyundai electric vehicle plant near Savannah.
The Hyundai raid resulted in hundreds of arrests of South Korean nationals who were in Georgia to train American workers. The raid made international news and sparked a diplomatic crisis with one of the United States’ closest allies, ultimately leading to a White House apology.
Peabody winners were each unanimous selections of the 28 jurors from more than 1,000 entries spanning television, podcasts, radio and the internet. These included works of entertainment, news, documentaries, children’s programming and interactive media, the organization said.
A total of 34 awards were issued this year.
This year’s honor is the second time the AJC has been recognized by the Peabody Awards and the first awarded for the AJC in the main competition. In 2017, the AJC was honored through the Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media program for its “Doctors & Sex Abuse” investigative series.
On Dec. 31, the AJC ended its print edition after 157 years, transitioning from a traditional newspaper into a completely digital news operation.
In a letter to staff, President and Publisher Andrew Morse noted the timing of Thursday’s Peabody honor and the AJC’s transformation.
“Your commitment to telling these stories with rigor, humanity and creativity earned us a place in the company of the best journalism being produced anywhere,” Morse wrote.
The 86th Peabody Awards ceremony will be May 31 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
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