HBO Garners Eight Nominations for the 2010 NAMIC Vision Awards Recognizing Achievements in Television Programming Diversity

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Nominations for the 2010 NAMIC Vision Awards were announced today by the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC).  Now in its 16th year, the NAMIC Vision Awards honor original multi-ethnic and cross-cultural television programming that best reflects the diversity of the global viewing audience.  The NAMIC Vision Awards will be presented at a luncheon ceremony scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

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A total of 27 networks and producers/distributors representing a wide range of programming generated 59 nominations for awards presented in 15 categories: 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; and Digital Media (Short Form).  Original programs that aired between the dates of November 1, 2008 and October 31, 2009 were eligible for consideration.  

HBO led the field of contenders for the 2010 NAMIC Vision Awards with eight nominations including two for HBO's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," which received a nod in the Drama category and a Best Performance – Drama nomination for actor and recording artist, Jill Scott.  Additional Best Performance – Drama nominees include: Cicely Tyson for the Hallmark Channel's "Relative Stranger," and actor Russell Hornsby, who garnered two nominations for ABC Family's "Lincoln Heights" and HBO's "In Treatment."  Hornsby is the first actor in NAMIC Vision Awards history to receive multiple nominations in a single performance category.

NBC/Universal Media Studios' "30 Rock" also garnered multiple nominations, receiving a nod in the Comedy category and a Best Performance – Comedy nomination for actor Tracy Morgan.   Additional nominees for Best Performance – Comedy include: Dana Davis for ABC Family's "10 Things I Hate About You," Dilshad Vadasaria for ABC Family's "Greek," Margaret Cho for Lifetime Television's "Drop Dead Diva," and Dule Hill for USA Network's "Psych."    

Programs nominated in the Comedy category in addition to "30 Rock" include: Lifetime Network's "Sherri," and HBO's "George Lopez: Tall, Dark & Chicano" and "Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me."  Nominees joining HBO's "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" in the Drama category include ABC Network's "Grey's Anatomy," TNT's "Hawthorne," and NBC/Universal Media Studios' "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."  

"The television viewing audience is becoming more ethnically and culturally diverse," said Marco Williams, vice president, Affiliate Marketing, The Africa Channel and president, NAMIC-Southern California.  "NAMIC is proud to continue recognizing those entities that remain committed to producing original content across all digital entertainment platforms that accurately reflects the full spectrum of our world's populace."

The NAMIC Vision Awards competition extends eligibility to national broadcast and cable networks; local affiliates; local origination programs from cable operators; and VOD content produced for digital platforms.  Entries are judged by a distinguished panel comprised of communications industry executives, producers, and scholars.  Judging is 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 2010 NAMIC Vision Awards follows.  For more information contact Sandra Girado, director, Meetings and Events, at the NAMIC national headquarters, 212-594-5985, ext. 23.  Sponsorship and ticket/table purchase inquiries should be directed to Danny McGlone, vice president of 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.

SOURCE NAMIC