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CABLE POSITIVE ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR FIRST
ANNUAL POP AWARDS BET Leads Nominations for Exceptional HIV/AIDS-Related
Cable Network Programming NEW YORK, NY -January 28, 2002 Cable Positive, in conjunction with presenting sponsor TV Guide, Inc. (TV Guide, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc), created two online categories for viewers and industry professionals to voice their opinions - POP Celebrity of the Year and POP Network of the Year - available through February 4, 2002. Viewers can go to www.tvguide.com and click on the POP Awards banner to vote for the celebrity that has had the strongest impact on HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention through his or her appearance in and support of original cable network programming in 2001. The nominees for POP Celebrity of the Year are: Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Magic Johnson, Greg Louganis, and Rosie Perez. Cable Positive has tapped cable industry professionals via www.tvguideportfolio.com to decide which network has most effectively and innovatively promoted HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention through its original programming with the POP Network of the Year. The nominees for POP Network of the Year are: A&E, BET, CNN, Discovery Health, E!, MTV, Oxygen, Showtime and TLC. In order to qualify for submission, entries must have been an originally produced program that aired at least once on a national cable network in the United States from January 1, to December 31, 2001. There was no fee for submissions, nor a limit to the number of entries. Programming nominations were selected based on the following criteria: educates the audience about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, raises awareness and/or promotes prevention HIV/AIDS, clearly presents HIV/AIDS message to the viewing audience and maintains high production values that help bring the HIV/AIDS content to life. A seven-person blue-ribbon judging panel viewed all submissions and applied these criteria when selecting the nominated programs. The first annual POP Awards judging committee was comprised of national television critics, HIV/AIDS activists, and educators including USA Today television critic Robert Bianco, Entertainment Weekly entertainment editor Jamie Bufalino, AIDS activist Patrick O'Connell, POZ magazine publisher Brad Peebles, Newsweek television critic Marc Peyser, TV Guide television critic Matt Roush, and Syracuse University Center for the Study of Popular Television professor Robert Thompson. Steve Villano, Executive Director of Cable Positive observed,
"The cable industry is leading the public dialogue about
HIV/AIDS by donating hundreds of hours of time to air Cable Positive
produced public service announcements (PSAs) as well as groundbreaking
new programs. Cable television, its talent and its programmers
deserve recognition for continuing to keep HIV/AIDS on the public's
mind." Positively Outstanding Programming (POP) Network of the Year Positively Outstanding Programming (POP) Celebrity of the
Year Positively Outstanding News Coverage Positively Outstanding Documentary Positively Outstanding Newsmagazine Series Episode or Special Positively Outstanding Biographical Series Episode or Special
Positively Outstanding Special Programming Cable Positive is a national non-profit organization that was founded in February 1992 by three concerned cable executives with the mission of organizing cable's resources in the fight against AIDS. Cable Positive is dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access, and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness; to fund AIDS education, research and care; and to promote a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Cable Positive has grown to include supporters from every major cable network, MSO, system, hardware manufacturer, trade association, media publication, and affiliated industry vendors and suppliers. For more information about Cable Positive, call 212.459.1502 or visit www.cablepositive.org.
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