Georgia Southern professor nominated for a Peabody Award
Matthew Hashiguchi, MFA, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts at Georgia Southern University, has been nominated for a Peabody Award. His documentary, “The Only Doctor” received a nomination in the Public Service category.
"I never expect to get nominated for an award, let alone win one,” said Hashiguchi. “But being nominated for a Peabody is, so far, the greatest acknowledgement I’ve received in my career, and I’m just happy to have a seat at the table with all the other nominees."
The documentary focuses on the story of the only health practitioner in a rural community along the Georgia-Alabama border serving 3,000 citizens. However, the story has a more personal connection for Hashiguchi.
When he and his wife were expecting their first child, he began work on "The Only Doctor" to better understand the risks associated with maternal health care and childbirth. Through his research, he found a more complex issue of healthcare access in rural communities.
It first premiered on the PBS program Reel South and is now available internationally on Al Jazeera’s documentary series “Witness.”
Hashigchi's work earned him a 2019 GUCCI Tribeca Documentary Fund Award and a 2021 American Stories Documentary Fund Award from Points North Institute. The film's world premiere took place at the 2023 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, and was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 South Georgia Film Festival, Best Feature at the 2023 Newburyport Documentary Film Festival and Award of Merit at the 2023 University Film and Video Association Conference.
The Peabody Awards are prestigious accolades in storytelling across television, radio, streaming and other digital mediums. Categories for winning a Peabody include journalism, social video, interactive documentary, gaming and more. The final winners from all categories will be announced May 1, and the awards presentation ceremony will take place June 1 in Los Angeles, California.