Media Project Announces Winners of SHINE Awards for Sexual Health in Entertainment
The Media Project, which is sponsored by Advocates for Youth, on Saturday announced the winners of its annual Sexual Health IN Entertainment, or SHINE, awards, which honor "outstanding television portrayals of sexual and reproductive health issues." The 10 category winners are listed below:- Comedy episode: "One on One," UPN, "The Test" -- A woman tells her boyfriend that they cannot have sex until he takes an HIV test.
- Drama episode: "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, "Fallacy" -- The program's story line examines transgender issues in the U.S. judicial system.
- Daytime Drama: "Guiding Light," CBS, "Marina Plans Ahead" -- A woman prepares to have sex.
- Entertainment Special: "Normal," HBO -- A man tells his wife and family that he wants to undergo a sex-change operation.
- Informational/Documentary: "Pandemic: Facing AIDS," HBO -- A five-part documentary series about people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.
- Series Storyline: "Queer As Folk," Showtime, "A Hustler's Tale" -- A program about a young, HIV-positive, male sex worker living on the street.
- Scene Stealer: "CSI," CBS, "Snuff" -- The program includes a scene about HIV transmission.
- Youth Program: "A Walk in Your Shoes," Noggin/The N, "Teen Parent" -- A teenage couple changes places with a teenage couple who are parents.
- Latino Broadcast Novela Series: "Francisco el Matematico," RCN Television Colombia, "No Mas Ninas Embarazadas" -- The program explores sex education and puberty.
- Latino Broadcast Talk/Variety Show: "Marta Susana," Venevision Intl/Univision Network, "Bailes De La Muerte" -- A talk show on the effect of the club drug ecstasy on responsible sexual decision making.
Special Awards
In addition, Dr. Neal Baer, executive producer of "Law & Order: SVU," accepted the special individual achievement award for his commitment to sexual health issues. Sumner Redstone, chair and CEO of media company Viacom, accepted the special corporate achievement award for the company's global media campaign, "KNOW HIV/AIDS" (Media Project release, 10/20). Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation are partners in the KNOW HIV/AIDS campaign, which is aimed at raising HIV/AIDS awareness through public service announcements, television and radio programming and free print and online content (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/2). According to Media Project Director Robin Smalley, this year's finalists and winners explore "provocative" issues, such as transgender stigma, parent-child communication and living with HIV/AIDS. "The good news is that one in three teens report talking with a parent about a sexual health issue because of something they saw on TV and 25% say they learned 'a lot' about HIV and AIDS. Television's power to positively impact an entire generation is truly something to celebrate," Smalley said (Media Project release, 8/20).