Paul Pillitteri ppillitteri@emmyonline.tv 212-586-8424THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES PRESENTS THE HUMANITARIAN, PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE EMMY® AWARDS
WITNESS To Receive Humanitarian Award For Its Use of Video and Online Technology
New York, NY – November 9, 2007 – The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the winners of this year’s Humanitarian, Public and Community Service Emmy® Awards at a luncheon ceremony at the Pegasus Room, 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The awards honor television professionals and non-profit groups for programming that advances the common good. During the ceremony Peter Price, President/CEO, National Television Academy and Lydia Loizides, Chair of the Humanitarian Award, presided over a special salute to WITNESS, for its contributions to human rights.
“Our Public and Community Service Emmy Awards ceremony honors those in the television industry who have dedicated their time and expertise to community service,” said Peter Price. “The Academy congratulates the honorees and hopes this event will encourage others to get involved in this rewarding endeavor.”
Panels of civic leaders and community service professionals from around the country chose the finalists. Winners for the awards were chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges composed of community leaders, educators, business people, and artists.
Local Public Service Announcement Emmy Award:
“Choose to Save” Savingsman Campaign
Employee Benefit Research Institute - EBRI
National Public Service Announcement Emmy Award:
Marvelyn Brown: That Night/Finding Out/Denial
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
National Public Service Announcement/Broadband
Big Fun with Global Warming
Project 3650.org / Sierra Club
Community Service Campaign Emmy Award:
Rap It Up
The Kaiser Family Foundation/BET
Community Service Emmy Award/Broadband:
Think: MTV's think HIV
MTV / Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
About WITNESS
WITNESS (www.witness.org), a human rights organization co-founded by musician Peter Gabriel, received the first Humanitarian Award given out by the Academy for its use of video and online technologies to document and expose human-rights violations around the world. WITNESS, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., has provided hundreds of human rights activists in 70 countries with the technical and strategic training and support they need to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice and change. In the coming months, WITNESS will launch a new online initiative called the Hub. The Hub will be a participatory website enabling people anywhere in the world to use their cameras, camcorders and cell phones to document and share their human rights-related footage to promote discussion, action and policy change.
About the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The National Television Academy is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Award for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime Entertainment, Creative Arts & Entertainment, Humanitarian, Public & Community Service, Technology & Engineering and Business & Financial Reporting. Regional Emmys are given in 19 regions across the United States. Beyond awards, the National Television Academy has extensive educational programs including National Student Television and its Student Award for Excellence for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public. For more information, please visit the website at www.emmyonline.tv.
Contact: Paul Pillitteri ppillitteri@emmyonline.tv 212-586-8424