The Drew Barrymore all-star cast feature film “Big Miracle,” Stephen Colbert’s satirical “The Colbert Report,” David E. Kelley’s “Harry’s Law,” “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” Discovery Channel’s “Ivory Wars,” ABC’s “Nightline,” and global pop icon Ke$ha took home the honors in major news and entertainment media categories presented at The Humane Society of the United States’ Genesis Awards Benefit Gala on Saturday, March 23, at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, Calif. “Dancing with the Stars” popular judge and passionate animal advocate Carrie Ann Inaba hosted the ceremony.
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Universal Pictures’ “Big Miracle” received best Feature Film for its inspiring true story about international efforts to save a family of trapped whales, Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” picked up the Sid Caesar Comedy Award for its biting satire of a Congressman’s defense of dog fighting, and NBC’s “Harry’s Law” won the Dramatic Series Award for a thought-provoking storyline questioning the ethics of keeping primates in captivity. Best TV Documentary went to Discovery’s “Ivory Wars” for a penetrating look at the alarming escalation in elephant ivory trade, and the best TV Newsmagazine Award was shared between NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” for in-depth reporting on endangered orangutans and rhinos and the issue of chimps in research, and ABC’s “Nightline” for an investigation into the shocking abuse of Tennessee Walking Horses by one of the industry’s best-known trainers.
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Following in the footsteps of Genesis Award alumni Sir Paul McCartney, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Hayden Panettiere, Kristin Davis and Ian Somerhalder, platinum-selling recording artist Ke$ha received HSUS’ coveted Wyler Award for her dedication to spreading the word about multiple animal protection issues to her massive international fan base. In other categories, Nat Geo Channel’s “Wild Justice” snagged best Reality Series, ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer” took the National News Award, “CBS This Morning” picked up best Morning Show, and Los Angeles’ “KNBC 4 News” won the Local TV News prize.
photo: Getty Images
“We are so grateful to the news and entertainment media for keeping animal protection issues firmly in their view in genres as diverse as comedy programming and documentaries. Concern for the welfare of animals has universal audience appeal, and since so much of what negatively impacts animals occurs out of sight, it’s important that these issues remain in the media spotlight,” said Beverly Kaskey, senior director of HSUS’ Hollywood Outreach program and executive producer of The Genesis Awards.
2013 Genesis Award Winners
FEATURE FILM
Big Miracle Universal Pictures
TV NEWSMAGAZINE
Nightline “The Ugly Truth Behind High Stepping Horses” ABC
Rock Center With Brian Williams NBC “At What Cost?”
“Ken and Rosie”
“Last Stand”
DRAMATIC SERIES
Harry’s Law “Gorilla My Dreams” NBC
SID CAESAR COMEDY AWARD
The Colbert Report Representative Steve King on dogfighting Comedy Central
TV DOCUMENTARY
Ivory Wars Discovery Channel
REALITY SERIES
Wild Justice Nat Geo Channel
NATIONAL NEWS
World News with Diane Sawyer downer cow video ABC
MORNING SHOW
CBS This Morning “Shark Tagging”
LOCAL TV NEWS
KNBC 4 News “Bunny Trafficking”
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING
Nick News with Linda Ellerbee “Animals? Show Me the Money!” Nickelodeon
BRIGITTE BARDOT INTERNATIONAL TV
60 Minutes “Jungle Warfare” Nine Network Australia
MAGAZINE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC “Cheetahs on the Edge” by Roff Smith
“Ivory Worship” by Bryan Christy
“Rhino Wars” by Peter Gwin
COLUMNIST
THE CHATTANOOGAN.COM Roy Exum multiple part series on Tennessee Walking Horse soring
NEWSPAPER SERIES
The Sacramento Bee three-part series on Wildlife Services by Tom Knudson
BRIGITTE BARDOT INTERNATIONAL PRINT
SOUTH ASIA Magazine (Pakistan) “Animal Welfare in Islam” by Aiman Reyaz and
“Law of the Land” by Anees Jillani, with commentary by Syed Rizvi
THE WYLER AWARD
Ke$ha
THE GENESIS CORPORATE AWARD
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
The HSUS’ 2013 Genesis Awards Benefit Gala was sponsored in part by Misix, One Car One Difference, Market Development Group, Prai Beauty Group, Tenet and Havas Edge.
