At least when it comes to the Peabodys.

HBO's monster Mafia series The Sopranos and NBC's behind-the-scenes political drama The West Wing were among a record 36 network, cable, local TV and individual winners of the 59th Annual George Foster Peabody Awards announced today.

The Peabodys recognize excellence in broadcasting and cable and usually honor PBS-type egghead fare. Unlike the Emmys or Oscars, there are no categories or special divisions--a winner's a winner.

"It's highly unusual for two series to win Peabody Awards in their debut season," Peabody director Barry Sherman said. "These two programs are indicative of the creativity, innovation and commitment to quality that was evidenced by all the award winners this year."

The Sopranos, fresh off big wins at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, was deemed Peabody-worthy for "combining drama with comic irony [and elevating] the Mob story from a cinematic genre to an unmatched exposition of the moral complexity of modern American life." And the Peabody folks called The West Wing "a magnificent episodic series that depicts the tension and backroom drama of presidential politics with an unusual mixture of maturity and humanity."

Overall, HBO won five awards for its programming (A Lesson Before Dying, Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports, Good Night Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales and Fists of Freedom joined The Sopranos on the winners' list), as well as a special citation for Sheila Nevins, the cable network's executive vice president of original programming, who received an award for overseeing the cable network's documentary and family programs.

ABC, ESPN and National Public Radio were all recognized for their millennial-minded programming.

The ABC-Disney remake of Annie got Peabody props for "[telling] the story in exciting and innovative new ways."

MTV Networks got a nod for its innovative biography series, BIOrhythm, while sister station VH1 was recognized for VH1 Save the Music Campaign, which chronicles the struggle to preserve music in schools.

The awards, presented by the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, were selected from more than 1,200 entries by a 15-member advisory board. This year's awards ceremony is scheduled for May 22 in New York City.

Here's a look at all the winners:

Lost & Found Sound, chronicle of recorded sound in the 20th century, National Public Radio and The Kitchen Sisters The Mississippi: River of Song, Smithsonian Productions; presented on Public Radio International Morning Edition with Bob Edwards, National Public Radio ABC 2000, coverage of the millennium around the globe, ABC News Bob Simon, international reporting for CBS News "Singled Out," stories about racial profiling, WAGA-TV, Atlanta "Stadium Investigation," fraud in the construction of new sports stadiums, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati GMA Network, investigative reporting, Manila, Philippines "Those Were Our Children," ABC News 20/20 BIOrhythm, innovative biographies, MTV Networks Playing the China Card, glimpse into President Nixon's overture to China, Brook Lapping Productions for Channel 4, London; presented on PBS by WGBH-TV, Boston Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers, Moyers documents South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Public Affairs Television; presented on PBS by Thirteen/WNET The Second World War in Colour, A TWI /Carlton coproduction for ITV, London. ESPN SportsCentury, ESPN Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, Ken Burns' story of two women who fought for women's rights, Florentine Films in association with WETA-TV, Washington, D.C.; presented on PBS Frontline: The Lost Children of Rockdale County, investigation into suburban syphilis outbreak, a Frontline coproduction with 10/20 Productions; presented on PBS Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports, Home Box Office Sports Arguing the World, Riverside Films, New York; presented on PBS The Valley, firsthand accounts of Kosovars, Mentorn Barraclough Carey Production for Channel 4, London Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games, Home Box Office Sports Murder in Purdah, expos? on the state of women's rights in Pakistan, BBC News, London I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts, Blackside, Inc., in association with Thirteen/WNET; presented on PBS The Life of Birds by David Attenborough, BBC London in association with PBS Good Night Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales, Home Box Office Annie, ABC, Storyline Entertainment, Columbia-Tristar Television, Inc., and Chris Montan Productions in association with Walt Disney Television VH1 Save the Music Campaign, campaign to preserve music education in schools, VH1 Public Affairs. MTV Networks The Sopranos, Home Box Office and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, movie about daughters of an ex-slave, CBS, Televest, Columbia-Tristar Television in association with Dreyfuss/James Productions Strange Justice, docudrama about Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas story, Showtime and Haft Entertainment ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: Lost for Words, A Yorkshire Television Production; presented on PBS by WGBH-TV, Boston A Lesson Before Dying, Home Box Office, a Spanky Pictures Production in association with Ellen M. Krass Productions City Life, Thirteen/WNET, New York ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre: A Rather English Marriage, Wall to Wall Television, Ltd., BBC, Carlton Television; presented on PBS by WGBH-TV, Boston The West Wing, NBC, John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television American Presidents: Life Portraits, C-SPAN, Washington, D.C. Sheila Nevins, Home Box Office, Personal Award