We’ve written before about the importance of LGBT visibility and its impact on everything from how we are perceived to how we are accepted in society. And we’ve also talked about the importance of honoring our own community. So I was really interested to see the press release today highlighting the nominees for the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
According to the press release (written, I think at least in part, by Out Front Blog alumnus Rich Ferraro), "The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives."
The list of nominees is much larger than I remember – 125 nominees in 26 English-language categories and 60 nominees in 16 Spanish-language categories. The list includes the expected (“Milk” for Outstanding Film – Wide Release and “Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom” for Outstanding Film – Limited Release) and a few surprises (my partner Mark’s favorite film “Shelter” up against “Noah’s Arc” and “Brideshead Revisted” up against “Milk”). MSNBC mainstays Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are also nominated.
I was really pleased to see that "Brothers and Sisters" was nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category (but it’s up against "The L Word" so I doubt it will win) and will be interested to see how ABC responds to the nomination for "Ugly Betty" since that network announced today that "Ugly Betty" will go on hiatus soon in favor of two sitcoms. Incidentally, ABC led all broadcast networks with six nominations and Logo led all cable networks with five nominations.
Also worth noting is the extensive list of corporate sponsors for this year’s awards. Despite the still-weakening economy, many brands apparently still understand the value of direct, active engagement in our community. From presenting sponsor IBM to partners such as Disney-ABC Television, Anheuser-Busch Inc. and Allstate Insurance, it’s a strong list.
And it’s also worth noting that two well-known media personalities we’ve discussed on the blog will receive special awards at the New York event: Suze Orman will receive the Vito Russo Award and Tyra Banks will receive the Excellence in Media Award. Special awardees for the Los Angeles and San Francisco events will be announced later.
We’ll look forward to following the events this March (New York), April (Los Angeles) and May (San Francisco) will report back on the winners and other news from these annual GLAAD events.
Once you’ve checked out the list of nominees, come back and let us know your thoughts. Any glaring omissions? Any nominees you think are not deserving of the honor?
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