Washington, DC – The leaders of the Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls today expressed gratitude to the Walter Kaitz Foundation for the Foundation’s decision to bestow upon the Commission the Foundation’s Diversity Advocate Award.
Actor and President of The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly said, “The Creative Coalition is proud to be one of the ‘architects’ of the Healthy MEdia Commission. It is our mission to use the unique voice of the entertainment industry to support issues of positive social cause. The Healthy MEdia Commission is one of the best examples of where the diverse and powerful platforms of entertainment can serve the common good and, in particular, our next generation of women leaders.”
“The Healthy MEdia Commission strives to promote representations of women in the media in the areas of healthy body images, active and diverse female characters, equal and healthy relationships, and increased roles of women and girls,” said Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and a co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission. “We’re proud to receive this award in recognition of our goals to ensure we’re creating a positive media environment for our children.”
The Healthy MEdia Commission is guided by its principal sponsors, The Creative Coalition, Girl Scouts of the USA, The National Association of Broadcasters, and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. The Walter Kaitz Foundation is the cable industry’s national foundation dedicated to advocating for diversity.
“It’s especially gratifying that a prestigious organization such as the Kaitz Foundation, which is dedicated to enhancing and increasing diversity in media, would recognize the efforts of the Commission. We thank the Foundation for that recognition,” said Girl Scouts of the USA President and CEO Anna Maria Chávez, who will accept the Award on September 12 on behalf of the Commission. “We and the Healthy MEdia Commissioners also look forward later this fall to delivering a full set of recommendations on how to encourage the proliferation of healthy images of women and girls in all forms of media.”
The Kaitz Foundation on July 18 announced that the Healthy MEdia Commission would be recognized with its Diversity Advocate Award at the annual Awards Dinner of the Foundation, on Wednesday, September 12, in New York City. The award is presented annually to an individual or organization outside of the cable industry that has demonstrated unwavering commitment to diversity.
“Through visionary leadership, this individual or organization has directly or indirectly fostered a more embracing and inclusive diversity environment” in the media industry, said the Foundation in announcing the Award. “Recognizing media’s role in influencing a child’s growth and development, the Healthy MEdia Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls supports efforts to increase the number of female characters in the media and is working to ensure that female roles, images, and portrayals are authentic, balanced, and healthy. [The Commission also] brings together media leaders, subject experts and advocates for children to create recommendations for promoting positive media images.”
“This recognition is a watershed moment for the Healthy MEdia Commission,” said Former FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, ITU Special Envoy and Laureate for Child Online Protection and the other co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission. “We hope it will serve to bring this issue to the attention of media outlets and organizations nationwide, and to encourage the media and entertainment industries to portray images of girls and women in a healthy, realistic, and constructive light.”
More information about the membership and objectives of The Healthy MEdia Commission is available on the “Watch What You Watch” page on GirlScouts.org, at http://tinyurl.com/cgvxspy.
For more information on the Walter Kaitz Foundation Dinner on September 12, 2012, at The Hilton New York in New York City, contact the Foundation, at (202) 222-2490, or email Michelle Ray, Senior Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives for the Walter Kaitz Foundation, at mray@walterkaitz.org. Full information about the dinner also can be found at www.walterkaitz.org.
About The Creative Coalition(www.TheCreativeCoalition.org)
The Creative Coalition is the premiere 501(C)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating and mobilizing its members on issues of public importance, particularly in the areas of public education, arts advocacy and First Amendment rights.
About Girl Scouts of the USA (www.girlscouts.org)
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.4 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls living overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U (800-478-7248) or visit www.girlscouts.org.
About NCTA(www.ncta.com)
NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation’s largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access, serving more than 45 million customers, after investing more than $185 billion to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to more than 25 million American consumers.
About NAB (www.nab.org)
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
About The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media(www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org)
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and its programming arm See Jane work with entertainment creators and companies, educate the next generation of content-creators, and inform the public about the needto increase the number of girls and women in media aimed at kids and to reduce stereotyping of both males and females.
For Immediate Release
August 1, 2012
Contact: Victor Inzunza, Girl Scouts of the USA(212) 852-5049