HBO Takes Top Honors at 2010 NAMIC Vision Awards Honoring Achievements in Television Programming Diversity

LOS ANGELES, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) has announced the winners of the 16th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards.  Awards were presented on Thursday, April 22 at a luncheon ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton.  Presented annually by NAMIC–Southern California, the NAMIC Vision Awards honor the television industry's creators, networks and business leaders demonstrating a commitment to producing multi-ethnic original programming that reflects the rich diversity of the global viewing audience.  HBO garnered four Vision Awards, topping the 27 networks and producers/distributors vying for honors in 15 award categories.  

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HBO's original series "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" garnered wins for Best Drama and Best Performance – Drama for the show's star, actress-recording artist, Jill Scott.  Additionally, HBO won the Best Comedy and Best Documentary categories. "George Lopez: Tall, Dark & Chicano" took Best Comedy honors while "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama" was this year's Best Documentary.  

NBC/Universal Media Studios and Nickelodeon also received multiple honors with a pair of victories each.  NBC/Universal Media Studios tied with HBO for Best Drama, receiving one of its two Vision Awards for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."  NBC/Universal Media Studios garnered its second award in the Best Performance – Comedy category with a win by actor-comedian Tracy Morgan for his role in the primetime series, "30 Rock."  Nickelodeon took top honors in the Best Animation category with a win for "The Backyardigans."  Nickelodeon's second award was for "Dora the Explorer," this year's winner for Best Children's.  BET Networks, CNN, Comcast, Discovery En Espanol, E:60/ESPN, EBRU TV, TNT and VH1, and were also recognized with wins in single award categories.

Actress-comedienne Kym Whitley served as host of the 16th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards. Presenters included Alec Mapa (ABC's "Ugly Betty"), Wendy Raquel Robinson (BET's "The Game") and Jai Rodriguez (The CW's "Harvard Medical School").  

Warner Bros. was the presenting sponsor of the 16th Annual NAMIC Vision Awards.  The competition extends eligibility to national broadcast and cable networks; local affiliates; local origination programs from cable operators; and VOD content produced for digital platforms.  Awards were selected by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of communications/entertainment industry executives and producers.  Judging was 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.

For more information on the NAMIC Vision Awards or the trade organization's programs and initiatives visit http://www.namic.com.  A complete list of 2010 NAMIC Vision Award winners follows.

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 http://www.namic.com/.

SOURCE NAMIC