CONTACT: Thomas Dima 212.459.1605 thomas@cablepositive.org

EDUCATION EMPLOYED AS TOOL IN PREVENTION AND DESTIGMATIZATION OF AIDS

Cable Tapped As Medium By Cable Positive

NEW YORK, NY - September 25, 2002
Education will be employed as a tool in prevention and destigmatization of AIDS by Cable Positive, the cable industry's AIDS action organization, as they begin a two-year campaign to educate cable industry professionals about the disease. The campaign titled "Education is the only vaccine in the fight against AIDS" has set a goal of educating 25% of the cable industry workforce within the next two years. Cable Positive believes educating this group of influential media content creators and providers does not stop with them; it will be brought into their daily lives and local communities and executed through their workplace and through their medium -- cable programming and broadband services. The goal is to reduce the rate of HIV infection, particularly among youth, and reduce stigma surrounding the disease.

"Cable industry professionals work with a powerful medium providing content to millions of Americans across the United States every day," said Steve Villano, President and CEO of Cable Positive. "Through AIDS education, Cable Positive hopes to decrease HIV infection, reduce stigma and create a more compassionate climate for those affected by the disease.

According to UN AIDS, 800,000 to 900,000 people in the US are currently living with HIV or AIDS. Of these, an estimated 300,000 are unaware that they are infected. Through Cable Positive's campaign, education is the tool with cable and broadband services serving as the medium by which the information will be disseminated. According to National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) there are more than 73 million basic cable households (Nielsen Media Research, July, 2002) and more than 9 million cable modem subscribers (June 30, 2002) in the United States, making cable and telecommunications a formidable force for reaching Americans with lifesaving information about HIV/AIDS.

The campaign will launch on Wednesday, September 25 at a free teach-in for cable industry human resource professionals in New York sponsored by ABC Cable Networks Group and AOL Time Warner. The session will provide an opportunity for the group to see how they can incorporate AIDS educational initiatives into their companies with a panel of cable industry professionals moderated by POZ Magazine Publisher Brad Peebles. The panel includes: Annemarie Bray, VP Training and Generalist, Affiliate Sales, Showtime Networks, Inc; Julia Ritchie, President, Ritchie Consulting; John Rose, VP Human Resources, ABC Inc. and Debra Wolf, Assistant Director, Legal Services, GMHC. The program also includes an HIV/AIDS update from Yolan LaPorte, Program Director, CDC Business Responds to AIDS.

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. Since 1992, Cable Positive has raised more than $9 million in the fight against AIDS. For more information about Cable Positive call 212.459.1502.