HBO Leads All Networks at NAMIC Vision Awards Honoring the Best in Programming Diversity

LOS ANGELES, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity In Communications (NAMIC) today announced the winners of the 14th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards. The only celebration recognizing the cable industry's commitment to producing quality, multi-ethnic original programming, the 14th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards were presented at a special luncheon ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Hosted by Shaun Robinson, weekend anchor of "Access Hollywood," the awards were held in conjunction with the NAMIC-Southern California West Coast Creative Summit, the trade organization's signature conference series focused on the content development aspects of the television industry.

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HBO led the 29 networks vying for honors in 14 award categories with a trio of wins. HBO's made-for-television movie "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," garnered a win for Best Drama and Best Performance - Drama honors for actor, Adam Beach. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" chronicled the history of Native Americans in the American West during the 19th century. The HBO special "D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic" took Best Comedy honors.

CNN and Disney Channel received two wins each. CNN topped all contenders in the Best News/Informational and Best Documentary categories, while Disney Channel won awards for Best Animation and Best Children's. CNN's winning programs included "American Morning: MLK Series/Soledad O'Brien" (Best News/Informational) and "Special Investigations Unit: Judgment in Jena" (Best Documentary). Disney Channel's winners included the "Handy Manny" episode entitled "A Very Handy Holiday" for Best Animation and "High School Musical 2" for Best Children's.

Other winning networks included Bravo (Best Performance - Comedy), BET J (Best Variety/Talk Show), ESPN (Best Sports), Si TV (Best Lifestyle), Style Network (Best Reality), The Africa Channel (Best Original Movie or Special), and The History Channel (Best Foreign Language).

Warner Bros. was the Presenting Sponsor of the NAMIC-Southern California West Coast Creative Summit and the 14th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards. Additional sponsors included 20th Century Fox, ABC*Disney Media Networks, A&E Television Networks, Bright House Networks, Fox Cable Networks, Fox Interactive Media, HBO, Scripps Networks, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner, Inc., Time Warner Cable, TuTv and Universal Studios. A complete list of winners for the 14th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards follows.

WINNERS - 14th ANNUAL NAMIC VISION AWARDS

ANIMATION
"Handy Manny" ("A Very Happy Holiday")/Disney Channel

BEST PERFORMANCE - COMEDY
Whoopi Goldberg - "The Word According to Whoopi"/Bravo

BEST PERFORMANCE - DRAMA
Adam Beach - "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee"/HBO

CHILDREN'S
"High School Musical 2"/Disney Channel

COMEDY
"D.L. Hughley: Unapologetic"/HBO

DOCUMENTARY
"Special Investigations Unit: Judgment in Jena"/CNN

DRAMA
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee"/HBO

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
"El Honor De Un Sacrificio"/The History Channel

LIFESTYLE
"Styleyes Miami"/Si TV

NEWS/INFORMATIONAL
"American Morning: MLK Series/Soledad O'Brien"/CNN

ORIGINAL MOVIE OR SPECIAL
"Akon: The Rhythm of Africa"/The Africa Channel

BEST REALITY
"How Do I Look?"/Style Network

SPORTS
"After Jackie"/ESPN

VARIETY/TALK SHOW
"My Two Cents"/BET J

About NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC is comprised of 2,000 professionals belonging to a network of 17 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve.

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Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Vice President of Marketing & Communications,
NAMIC, +1-212-594-5985, office, daphne.leroy@namic.com; or Charmaine Chapman,
BTB Communications, +1-310-902-8627, cell, char@btbcommunications.com

Web site: http://www.namic.com/

2008-04-16 18:51:41 0338136 PRNEWSWIRE