The University of Georgia offers the Peabody Awards for broadcast journalism, but the work I do has no place there, either. Just for fun, I checked out some of the awards that are offered for work done online. There are the WebAwards , the Webby Awards , and the Best of the Web Awards . Most focus on design, most try to be hip, and most aren't worth the plastic they're made of. The group is currently inactive and has no plans to renew the awards competition .
Every industry has awards, and they serve a useful purpose.
Awards teach the audience what good stuff is, what it costs to produce, and what elements go into making it. They educate both the audience and the industry. Frankly, this industry has done a pretty horrid job of educating its audience. Instead, we've celebrated ourselves, congratulated ourselves, and thrown ourselves parties. We've cavorted among ourselves in ways that invited ridicule, and now that the punch bowl is dry, ridicule is here in abundance .