Sixth Annual Day of
Compassion to Educate Millions
Topics: Living with
HIV and Research & Advocacy Fronts
By Don Romesburg
GLAAD Publications
Manager
Media outlets across the
country will call attention to the continuing crisis of HIV/AIDS on Friday,
June 19th. On this sixth annual Day of Compassion, network and cable television,
print media, Internet providers and radio stations will air special programming
specifically geared toward educating and raising awareness about those
living with the disease, those working on research and advocacy fronts,
and friends and families who have-on a multitude of levels-been touched
by HIV/AIDS.
Among those scheduled to
appear on morning news programs are Jeanne White (mother of the late Ryan
White) on Good Morning America and reigning Miss America Kate Schindle
on CNN. Talk shows scheduled to participate on June 19 include: Leeza,
Sally Jesse Raphael, Jenny Jones, Cristina and Maury Povich. Daytime dramas
include Days of Our Lives, All My Children, General Hospital and The Young
and the Restless. Over 300 cable networks and systems will be telecasting
AIDS-related PSAs and programming, including E! Entertainment Television
and MTV.
"Over the past five years,
Day of Compassion has demonstrated the unparalleled ability of the media
to call attention to compelling social issues such as HIV/AIDS," said Joan
M. Garry, GLAAD Executive Director. "While it is important to highlight
the remarkable progress being made in the medical arena, it is critical
to remind the public that this is not a time to be complacent. Now-more
than ever before-education and accessible information are essential elements
in the prevention of this disease."
Day of Compassion is an annual
project of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and
is co-sponsored by Until There's a Cure Foundation, the Names Project Foundation
and Cable Positive, the cable industry's AIDS action organization. Day
of Compassion began in 1993, when Los Angeles-based actor Neil Tadken viewed
an AIDS-themed episode of One Life to Live. Inspired by that candid portrayal
of the AIDS crisis, he contacted other daytime drama producers, many of
whom agreed to air episodes devoted to people affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Day of Compassion Web
site can be accessed via GLAAD Online, located at http://www.glaad.org.
Those who wish to participate in "Show Compassion On Your Site" by displaying
a button linking to the Day of Compassion site may download their button
from that same site.
Editor's
Note:
The
graphic at the top of this page is a fully functional
link.
To Report Defamation in the
Media - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.Gay Media or go to the GLAAD Web
Site at www.glaad.org and report through
our Alertline Online.
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