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October 5, 2007- About ACC / Membership / FORUM / Beacon Awards Inside This Issue:
The Early Bird Deadline (save $50!) for the 2008 Beacon Awards is less than a month away! It's easy to submit your award-winning initiatives for entry if you follow these simple steps. 1.) Choose the Project(s). Over the course of the year, your organization has probably executed several campaigns or initiatives. Carefully review the work your organization has completed between November 17, 2006, and November 16, 2007 to determine which of your projects you would like to submit as a Beacon Award entry. A look at the 23 categories listed in the Beacon Award Call for Entries will help you determine where your project fits best. To view projects from past years, please click here.
Log on to the ACC Web site to view new content featured in the "Career Connections" page. In this electronic and transcribed Q & A series of interviews, senior ACC members share their insights on what it takes to succeed in cable communications and how to advance your career. Six interviews are currently available on the site, including a video interview with Dr. Libby O'Connell, senior vice president, corporate outreach, A&E Television Networks featured on the home page. Continue to check back often for new content!
Time Warner Cable of New York & New Jersey announced a partnership last week with CyberAngels, a Guardian Angels program dedicated to keeping children and families safe from harm on the Internet. The $500,000 multi-media, public safety campaign will help educate parents on how to teach basic Internet safety at home in order to keep their children safe online. The announcement was made on the first-ever "CyberSafety Day" in New York City, as designated in a proclamation by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The groups released a cyber safety guide to cable and Internet customers informing parents how to keep children away from pedophiles and predators. The cyber safety guide, which will be available at local Time Warner Stores and online in both English and Spanish, includes an instructional DVD and booklet with tips on how to navigate social networking sites and how recognize risky Internet behavior. The guide is available in English and Spanish and can be found on both groups' Web sites. Additionally, the campaign includes the distribution of a 30-second video message featuring Curtis Sliwa, Founder and CEO of The Guardian Angels, that will be distributed across Time Warner Cable's video platform. The Guardian Angels were founded in 1979 and began as a group of 13 dedicated volunteers who patrolled the subways, streets and neighborhoods of New York City to combat and deter crime. As part of its mission of "keeping it safe," the Guardian Angels moved beyond the streets with the launch of CyberAngels in 1995. The volunteer–based Cyber Angels is one of the oldest and most respected online safety education programs in the world. For more information on Time Warner's initiative
with CyberAngels, please visit www.cyberangels.org.
We hope you've had the chance to visit the Association of Cable Communicators' new Web site launched at www.cablecommunicators.org! Designed with our members' professional development needs in mind, the Web site features many ways for you to connect with the association and with your colleagues. From the on-line membership directory to the new "Career Connections" mentoring series to practical information about FORUM and the Beacon Awards®, we trust the Web site will be a resource you visit again and again. Your feedback is important as we continue to strive to meet your professional needs. Please spend a few minutes taking the survey found on the Web site to let ACC know how we can serve you better! If you have any additional comments or questions about the services provided at www.cablecommunicators.org, please contact ACC at 800-210-3396 or services@cablecommunicators.org.
Cartoon Network kicked off "National Recess Week" by announcing a partnership with the National Basketball Association's social responsibility arm, NBA Cares, to help enlist one million volunteer hours as part of its "Rescuing Recess" community outreach program. As part of the effort, Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade has stepped up as the national spokesman for the initiative. "Rescuing Recess" was launched in March 2006 as part of Cartoon Network's "Get Animated" healthy lifestyles program to protect and revitalize recess in schools across the country. The focus of the 2007-2008 "Rescuing Recess" campaign is a year-long pledge drive to enlist 1 million volunteer hours supporting recess and physical activity. Top volunteer-recruiting schools from each state and the District of Columbia can earn $2,500 in grants toward supporting the school's physical activity programs and healthy lifestyle initiatives, as well as $250 gift certificates for merchandise from the Sportime, Inc. physical education equipment catalog. An ultimate winning school will receive a single $25,000 cash grant and a special recess rally event. As spokesman for the initiative, Wade will lead fellow NBA players, legends and WNBA stars in making public school appearances during the school year as volunteer recess monitors. He will also appear in a national on-air spot to promote "Rescuing Recess," which was created by Cartoon Network to champion the benefits and importance of daily recess in schools. Additional media support includes a multi-million dollar national media campaign across all Turner Broadcasting networks. In addition, the campaign will have a presence at bus stands, on-bus billboards, print publications and select online sites available through AOL. National Recess Week was first celebrated in September 2006 to start the school year with fun, interactive recess rallies across the country that inspired parents and community members to become recess monitors for their local schools. Since then, "Rescuing Recess" has received 14 nationally-recognized awards for community service, program creativity and effective communication strategies. For more information on "Rescuing Recess," contact Vanessa Foster at vanessa.foster@turner.com.
On Wednesday, October 3, ACC held its first networking reception at the Fox Studios commissary in Los Angeles. An intimate group of members and non-members gathered to hear more about the expanded services ACC is providing in conjunction with its new Web site, www.cablecommunicators.org. Randy Freer, president, Fox Regional Cable Sports Network, was also on hand to share some of the innovative projects Fox Cable Networks has begun and to stress the importance of community relations. During the evening, drawings were held for door prizes, including Discovery's Planet Earth series, DVD's from Fox Cable Networks, portfolios from TV One and a gift bag from Scientific Atlanta. Special thanks to Fox Cable Networks for serving as the evening's hosts!
Help ACC as we honor the best cable communicators in the industry by nominating a colleague for the Cable Communications Achievement Award! Formerly the Public Affairs Achievement Award, the Cable Communications Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cable communications field. Up to four individuals will be recognized for their role in the cable industry, with one of the four individuals receiving recognition as a "rising star." Nomination forms are currently available on the ACC Web site and will be accepted until January 4, 2008. Nominees must be a current member of ACC and must have been a member of ACC for a minimum of three years. Eligible candidates must have worked in cable communications a minimum of five years and must support the goals of ACC. "Rising star" nominees must have worked in cable a maximum of two years with no minimum membership requirement in ACC. Finally, nominees must be employed by a MSO, local system, cable network, industry supplier or industry non-profit organization. For a complete list of policies and procedures, or to nominate a colleague, visit www.cablecommunicators.org/awards_ccaa.php.
Comcast recently launched a specialized video-on-demand and web initiative called "Breast Cancer Hope," bringing educational and inspirational content to women affected by the disease. The initiative is a partnership with Lifetime, (sponsoring the VOD platform); Comcast's Style Network; Discovery Health Channel; Exercise TV and breastcancer.org. The VOD initiative will include more than 40 programs, grouped in five topical areas. "Fact or Fiction" will help explain to patients and others what to expect from visits to radiologists, breast surgeons, oncologists, plastic surgeons and other specialists. "What's my Risk" includes Discovery Health programming on research and prevention, healthy cooking recipes and cancer-related episodes from programming on CN8, Comcast's regional news network. "Inspiration" will be programmed with features on prominent women who've faced cancer, plus the Lifetime movie, "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy" and "What is Breast Cancer" will have discussions on diagnosis through reconstruction. Finally, "Fashion Tips" will help patients cope with style. The "Breast Cancer Hope" initiative was inspired in part by the experiences of Aileen Roberts, wife of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and this year asked company executives to think about ways to provide information for cancer patients. Cancer information will be posted at www.comcast.net/breastcancer. Content will include message boards and an area where users can ask questions of Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder of breastcancer.org, providing medically reviewed and up-to-date information about breast cancer. The material will be available throughout October, which is breast cancer awareness month. For more information on the initiative, visit www.comcast.net/breastcancer.
Get connected to ACC and your colleagues by judging the 2008 Beacon Awards! Each year, ACC invites its members to serve as judges for the Beacon Awards, the cable industry's highest honor for communications and public affairs excellence. As a Beacon judge, you will learn what your cable communications peers across the country are accomplishing and will walk away from the experience with hundreds of new ideas and connections.
GSN. The Network for Games recently announced the return of its National Vocabulary Championship, a competition developed last year by the network that allows high-school-aged students to test their facility with words. Study modules for the competition as well as a custom word game are available online at www.winwithwords.com. Students and teachers can download free study modules designed by GSN's competition partner, The Princeton Review, for self-study. Teachers can also use the modules as the basis for weekly vocabulary lessons. Additionally, the Web site features a game, "The Ultimate Word Challenge," that local operators may co-brand. Finally, a new feature of the Web site is a social community connecting participants through links to National Vocabulary Championship forums on MySpace, Facebook and Friendster. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems will host qualifying events, planned for Sacramento, Nashville, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Other operators are supporting the initiative by running "Win with Words" public service announcements featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Pat Sajak and others. The qualifying round is open to students across the country ages 13 to 19 and will take place throughout November with an online exam. Additionally, students in registered participant schools in the eight markets that host live competitions can also win a place in the challenge. The competitions begin on November 15 in Sacramento. For more information on the National Vocabulary Championship, contact Dena Kaplan at dkaplan@gsn.com.
Get connected to ACC and your area colleagues by attending the Association of Cable Communicators' October New York City networking event! ACC will host a networking reception on Tuesday, October 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the ESPN Zone on 1472 Broadway in Times Square. Guests will receive a complimentary game card and will be eligible to win door prizes throughout the evening. Complimentary beer, wine, cocktails and appetizers will also be served. Mark your calendars now to network with industry associates and enhance your career! To RSVP, call ACC at 202-222-2370 or email services@cablecommunicators.org.
In conjunction with The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF), Versus plans to launch a video-on-demand platform in December for the 2008 Presidential candidates to discuss outdoors issues. Candidates on Demand aims to put a spotlight on U.S. Presidential hopefuls and their views on relevant subjects via a one-on-one question and answer session that will be available on Versus.com and Versus on Demand beginning December 13. Versus and CSF will pose eight to ten questions on key topics that impact hunting and fishing. Topics may include access for hunting and fishing, energy, marine protected areas, wilderness areas and conservation tax easements. Candidates will be allowed to discard up to two of the questions. The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, with the support from every major hunting and fishing organization, works directly with the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus in the U.S. Congress, as well as affiliated state sportsmen's caucuses in 33 state legislatures around the country. For more information on the VOD platform, visit www.versus.com.
Join and support ACC by becoming a corporate member. Join now and receive benefits immediately from your join date until December 2008. For more information on how your organization can join ACC as a corporate member, please contact Steve Jones at sjones@cablecommunicators.org or 202-222-2373. For membership details, go to http://www.cablecommunicators.org/cmember.php. Golden Benefactors
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PO Box 75007 Washington DC 20013 · Phone 800.210.3396 or 202.222.2370 · Fax 202.222.2371 |
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