Nominees Announced for NAMIC Vision Awards Recognizing Diversity in Television Programming

Nominees Announced for NAMIC Vision Awards Recognizing Diversity in Television Programming

BET Leads All Networks With Six Nominations Followed By CNN, HBO And TBS With Five Each

ABC Studios Earns Four Nominations For Its Primetime Series To Mark Expansion Of Awards Competition To Include Broadcast Networks

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Nominations for the 2009 NAMIC Vision Awards were announced today by the National Association for Multi- ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC). BET led the 35 nominated networks with six nominations for the prestigious entertainment industry award, which honors achievements in television programming diversity. The 15th Anniversary NAMIC Vision Awards will be presented at a luncheon ceremony hosted by Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson. Scheduled for Friday, April 17, 2009 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, the NAMIC Vision Awards are held annually in conjunction with the NAMIC-Southern California West Coast Creative Summit. The NAMIC Creative Summits are the trade organization's signature, daylong educational forums focused on creating, delivering and marketing content across multiple platforms for the multi-ethnic consumer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO )

Since the show's inception in 1995, NAMIC, through the Vision Awards competition has recognized the achievements of cable networks producing quality, multi-ethnic and cross-cultural original programming content. The 2009 competition marks the expansion of the awards program with eligibility extended to national broadcast networks; local affiliates; local origination programs from cable operators; and VOD content produced for digital platforms. A total of 248 entries were received in the 16 award categories including Animation; Children's; Comedy; Documentary; Drama; Foreign Language; Lifestyle; News/Informational; Original Movie or Special; Reality; Sports; Variety/Talk Show; Best Performance - Comedy; Best Performance - Drama; Digital Media (Short Form) and Digital Media (Long Form). Original programs that aired between the dates of October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008 were eligible for submission.

"As the face of America continues to change, NAMIC will continue to support and encourage those entities that remain committed to producing multi- ethnic, original programming," said Kathy Johnson, president, NAMIC. "By expanding the Vision Awards competition to ensure greater inclusiveness, our goal is to honor the growing number of creators fostering diversity across digital entertainment platforms."

As this year's top nominated network, BET earned its six nominations in the Comedy category for "Somebodies," the Reality category for "College Hill: Interns" and the Variety/Talk Show category for "The BET Honors," "Harlem to Hollywood: Diddy," "Hip-Hop vs. America" and "Sunday Best." CNN, HBO and TBS earned five nominations each. TBS presented a strong showing by "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." In addition to nearly sweeping the nominations for Best Performance - Comedy, the original series also received a nod in the Comedy category.

CNN received recognition in the Documentary category for "CNN Presents: Black in America," and delivered a near sweep in the News/Informational category with nods for "Black in America: Suicide Survivor," "Anderson Cooper 360: Race in America," "CNN Special Projects: To The Top" and "Showbiz Tonight: Black in Hollywood."

HBO was recognized in more individual award categories than any other network with nominations in Comedy for "Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger," Documentary for "Joe Louis: America's Hero...Betrayed," Sports for "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" and Best Performance - Drama, which garnered the network a pair of nods.

ABC Studios, a content driver for the Disney-ABC Television Group made a landmark showing as the top nominations recipient among newly-eligible broadcast network programming. ABC Studios' original series fared well in the Drama category with nominations for "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost" and "Private Practice." "Ugly Betty," also an ABC Studios original, earned a nod in the Comedy category to round out the studios' four nominations. Other broadcast entities receiving nominations include NBC in the Best Performance - Comedy category for Tracy Morgan ("30 Rock") and CBS Paramount Network Television in the Comedy category for "The Game." In addition to Tracy Morgan, nominees for Best Performance - Comedy include LaVan Davis ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne"), Demetria McKinney ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne"), Keshia Knight Pulliam ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne") and Larramie Doc Shaw ("Tyler Perry's House of Payne"). Nominees for Best Performance - Drama include Raymond Cruz ("The Closer"), Robert Gossett ("The Closer"), Benito Martinez ("The Shield"), Felicia Pearson ("The Wire") and Tristan Wilds ("The Wire). Programs nominated in the Comedy category in addition to ABC Studios' "Ugly Betty," BET's "Somebodies" and CBS Paramount Network Television's "The Game," include HBO's "Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger" and TBS' "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." ABC Family's "Lincoln Heights" and USA Network's "In Plain Sight" join "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost" and "Private Practice" to round out the Drama category.

Nickelodeon also received four nominations with a near sweep in the Children's category with nominations going to "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan," "Go, Diego, Go" and "Dora The Explorer" and a nod in the Animation category for El Tigre "The Grave Escape."

Entries were judged by a distinguished panel of entertainment industry professionals. Judging focused on overall imagery (creative merit, originality, and presentation quality), sensitivity (the consideration given to cultural nuances), writing (the depiction of issues relevant to people of color) and the quality of acting in the performance categories.

A complete list of nominees for the 15th Anniversary NAMIC Vision Awards follows. For more information contact Sandra Girado, manager, Meetings and Events, at the NAMIC national headquarters, 212-594-5985 ext. 23. Sponsorship and ticket/table purchase inquiries for the NAMIC-Southern California West Coast Creative Summit and Vision Awards luncheon ceremony should be directed to Danny McGlone, vice president for Fund Development, NAMIC at 212-594-5985 ext. 13.

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 18 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. For more information on NAMIC, visit www.namic.com.

   15th ANNIVERSARY NAMIC VISION AWARDS NOMINEES    ANIMATION   "Handy Manny"                                Disney Channel   "Soy Mono: Words"                            MTV TR3S   El Tigre "The Grave Escape"                  Nickelodeon    BEST PERFORMANCE - COMEDY   Tracy Morgan - "30 Rock"                     NBC   LaVan Davis - "Tyler Perry's House    of Payne"                                   TBS   Demetria McKinney - "Tyler Perry's    House of Payne"                             TBS   Keshia Knight Pulliam - "Tyler Perry's    House of Payne"                             TBS   Larramie Doc Shaw - "Tyler Perry's    House of Payne"                             TBS    BEST PERFORMANCE - DRAMA   Benito Martinez - "The Shield"               FX Networks   Felicia Pearson - "The Wire"                 HBO   Tristan Wilds - "The Wire"                   HBO   Raymond Cruz - "The Closer"                  TNT   Robert Gossett - "The Closer"                TNT    CHILDREN'S   "Wizards of Waverly Place"                   Disney Channel   "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan"                            Nickelodeon   "Go, Diego, Go"                              Nickelodeon   "Dora The Explorer"                          Nickelodeon   "Degrassi: The Next Generation"              The N    COMEDY   "Ugly Betty"                                 ABC Studios   "Somebodies"                                 BET   "The Game"                                   CBS Paramount Network                                                 Television   "Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger"             HBO   "Tyler Perry's House of Payne"               TBS    DIGITAL MEDIA - LONG FORM   "Americlef"                                  MTV On-Air Promotions   "Time Warner Cable's Futbol Mania"           Time Warner Cable    DIGITAL MEDIA - SHORT FORM   "Ugly Betty Presents: Mode After Hours"      ABC.com   "MTVU's Stand In: President Ellen Johnson    Sirleaf"                                    MTVU   "DIG: Lyrics Born"                           MYX-ABS CBN International   "Extra on Essence"                           Telepictures Productions &                                                 Time Inc.'s Essence                                                 Communications   "Yes We Can," Essence Election '08           Telepictures Productions &                                                 Time Inc.'s Essence                                                 Communications   DOCUMENTARY   "Nanking"                                    Cinemax Reel Life   "CNN Presents: Black in America"             CNN   "Fuga De Las FARC"                           Discovery Networks Latin                                                 America   "Joe Louis: America's Hero                   HBO   "VH1 Rock Doc: The Night James Brown Saved    Boston"                                     VH1    DRAMA   "Lincoln Heights"                            ABC Family   "Grey's Anatomy"                             ABC Studios   "Lost"                                       ABC Studios   "Private Practice"                           ABC Studios   "In Plain Sight"                             USA Network    FOREIGN LANGUAGE   Time Warner Cable's "Futbol Mania"           Time Warner Cable   "Sucker Free Latino Unscripted: Wisin y    Yandel"                                     MTV TR3S   "Asi Paso"                                   ESPN    LIFESTYLE   "Fashion Blackout"                           BET News   "National Body Challenge: Twins Edition"     Discovery Health Channel   "World in America"                           Ebru TV   Down Home With The Neelys - "Pass It On"     Scripps Networks / Food                                                 Network   HGTV "Deserving Design"                      Scripps Networks / HGTV    NEWS / INFORMATIONAL   "Black in America: Suicide Survivor"         CNN   "Anderson Cooper 360: Race in America"       CNN   "CNN Special Projects: To The Top"           CNN   "Showbiz Tonight: Black in Hollywood"        CNN   "In Conversation: The Michelle Obama    Interview"                                  TV One    ORIGINAL MOVIE OR SPECIAL   "The Best Shorts"                            BET J   "Cheetah Girls: One World"                   Disney Channel   "The Africa Channel Presents: A Night of    Tribute"                                    The Africa Channel    REALITY   "College Hill: Interns"                      BET   "Spring Break Diaries: Spelman College"      BET News   "The mun2 Hook Up: Frankie J"                mun2   "Student Body"                               The N   "VH1's The Cho Show"                         VH1    SPORTS   "C. Vivian Stringer's Big Ten Legacy"        Big Ten Network   "ESPN Outside the Lines: Dodgertown"         ESPN   "The Secret Game"                            ESPN   "Our Heroes: A Black History Month    Special"                                    Fox Sports North   "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel"             HBO    VARIETY / TALK SHOW   "The BET Honors"                             BET   "Harlem to Hollywood: Diddy"                 BET   "Hip Hop vs. America"                        BET   "Sunday Best"                                BET   "TV One on One: Tyler Perry"                 TV One  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Vice President of Marketing & Communications,
NAMIC, +1-212-594-5985, daphne.leroy@namic.com; Charmaine Chapman, BTB
Communications, +1-310-882-5498, char@btbcommunications.com

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

---

Profile: International Entertainment