In The News

Coral Gables, FL (Jan. 21, 2007)
GLAAD ANNOUNCES NOMINEES, SPECIAL HONOREES FOR 18TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS

Little Miss Sunshine, Quinceañera, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Nightline, CosmoGIRL!, Essence, Scissor Sisters, Caso Cerrado Among Nominees

Patti LaBelle, Tom Ford, Martina Navratilova, Jaime Bayly to be Honored

Park City, Utah, Sunday, January 21, 2007 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced today at a press conference in Park City, Utah, the nominees and honorees for its 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Among the nominees: critically acclaimed films Little Miss Sunshine and Quinceañera , the summer blockbuster Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby , ABC's new hit shows Brothers & Sisters and Ugly Betty , NBC's hit sitcom The Office , the episodes "Where the Boys Are" from Grey's Anatomy and "Blind Date" from 30 Rock, Project Runway, Nightline, CosmoGIRL! , two episodes of The Tyra Banks Show , and Spanish-language nominees Tierra de Pasiones, Última Hora, TV y Novelas USA , and Terra.com.

"These bold projects, images and voices have once again raised the bar for excellence in media representations of our lives," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "As we continue to fight against forces that threaten our progress toward equality, it's gratifying to be able to celebrate the creative accomplishments of those who are committed to sharing the truth of our lives and our stories."

The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in New York on March 26, 2007 at the Marriott Marquis; in Los Angeles on April 14 at the Kodak Theatre; in San Francisco on April 28 at the Westin St. Francis; and in South Florida on May 10 at the JW Marriott Miami.

For the third consecutive year, the GLAAD Media Awards will be televised on Logo, MTV Networks' cable channel for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender viewers and their allies. The Logo airdate for the GLAAD Media Awards is April 21, 2007.

In addition to 122 nominees in 26 English-language categories, and 61 Spanish-language nominees in 16 categories, GLAAD also announced that it will recognize Special Honorees Patti LaBelle and Tom Ford at the New York ceremony, Martina Navratilova at the Los Angeles event, and Jaime Bayly in South Florida. Additional Special Honorees for Los Angeles, San Francisco and South Florida will be named at a later date.

In the competitive categories, broadcast networks led the way this year with 18 nominations, with the cable networks following with 12 nominees. Among the broadcast networks, ABC came away with eight nominees, while CNN led cable networks with four nominations.

Additional facts about this year's 183 nominees and print-quality photos of selected nominees and honorees, are available - please click here: Facts & Figures Tip Sheet

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor mainstream media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives. A complete list of GLAAD Media Awards nominees is available - please click here: 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees. A description of this year's Special Honorees is available - please click here: 18th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Special Nominees

GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released or broadcast between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. Nearly 1,000 media projects were considered in 26 English-language and 16 Spanish-language categories. This year, more than 5,000 people will attend the GLAAD Media Awards in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and South Florida, raising more than $3.7 million for the organization's work.

More than 100 corporate sponsors are showing their support, including Founding Sponsor ABSOLUT VODKA, which is returning to the GLAAD Media Awards for the 18th consecutive year. GLAAD is also grateful to the event's Platinum Underwriter Sponsor IBM. Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Bud Light, Coors Brewing Company, Harrah's Foundation, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Lehman Brothers, Motorola, Starbucks Coffee Company and Time Warner support the GLAAD Media Awards as Underwriter Sponsors. For a full list of corporate sponsors or information on how to become a corporate sponsor, purchase tickets or a tribute journal ad, please visit http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards or call (877) 519-7904.

About GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

About Logo

Logo is the ad-supported network targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) viewers, launched by MTV Networks. The network launched June 30, 2005 with more than one thousand hours of content and has approximately 20 million subscribers across the United States. Logo provides LGBT audiences with a place where they can see themselves and be themselves through a mix of original and acquired entertainment programming that is authentic, smart and inclusive. Logo joins Viacom's roster of popular and highly targeted cable networks which includes MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Spike TV.

List of Nominees

OUTSTANDING FILM - WIDE RELEASE
Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Night Listener (Miramax Films)
Running With Scissors (TriStar Pictures)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Columbia Pictures)
V for Vendetta (Warner Bros. Pictures)

OUTSTANDING FILM - LIMITED RELEASE
The History Boys (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Imagine Me & You (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Quinceañera (Sony Pictures Classics)
Shortbus (ThinkFilm)
Summer Storm (Regent Releasing)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
The L Word (Showtime)
Hex (BBC America)
The Sopranos (HBO)
South of Nowhere (The N)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
The Office (NBC)
So NoTORIous (VH1)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE (in a series without a regular gay character)
"Blind Date" 30 Rock (NBC)
"Forever Blue" Cold Case (CBS)
"Lincoln Lover" American Dad! (Fox)
"Single Stamina" How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
"Where the Boys Are" Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (Lifetime)
Wedding Wars (A&E)

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY
All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise (HBO)
Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer (HBO)
My Mums Used to be Men (BBC America)
One Punk Under God (Sundance Channel)
This Film is Not Yet Rated (IFC Films)

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
The Amazing Race 10 (CBS)
Big Brother: All-Stars (CBS)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Queer Eye (Bravo)
Work Out (Bravo)

OUTSTANDING DAILY DRAMA
All My Children (ABC)
As the World Turns (CBS)
General Hospital (ABC)
Passions (NBC)

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW EPISODE
"Hate Crimes" The Tyra Banks Show (syndicated)
"The Murder of a Boy Named Gwen" The Montel Williams Show (syndicated)
"Transgender: A Struggle for Acceptance " The Montel Williams Show (syndicated)
"Transsexuals" The Tyra Banks Show (syndicated)
"Wives Confess They are Gay" The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)

OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM - NEWSMAGAZINE
"Forbidden Love" Nightline (ABC)
"Lesbians in the Ministry" To the Contrary (PBS)
"Transgender People" The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch (CNBC)
"Under the Rainbow" NOW (PBS)
"Will Gay Debate Tear Church Apart?" Larry King Live (CNN)

OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM - NEWS SEGMENT
"The Equality Ride" MTV News: The Amazing Break (MTV)
"Military Expulsion" Good Morning America Weekend (ABC)
"Same-Sex Marriage" Live From. (CNN)
"Secret Love: Gay Life in the Middle East" Inside the Middle East (CNN)
"Transgender Teen" Paula Zahn Now (CNN)

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
"Even Deep in Dixie, Gays Sense Inexorable Shift Toward Acceptance" by David Crary (Associated Press)
"Fathers in the Making" by Kevin Sack ( Los Angeles Times )
"Gay Teens Are Using the System" by Seema Mehta ( Los Angeles Times )
"Hill Republicans Air Out the Closet" by Jose Antonio Vargas ( The Washington Post )
"Supporting Boys or Girls When the Line Isn't Clear" by Patricia Leigh Brown ( The New York Times )

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST
Alfred Doblin ( Herald News [Bergen, NJ])
Dana Milbank ( The Washington Post )
Deb Price ( The Detroit News )
Frank Rich ( The New York Times )
Dan Savage ( The New York Times )

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER OVERALL COVERAGE
The Boston Globe
The Daily Press [Newport News, VA]
The Honolulu Advertiser
Los Angeles Times
USA Today

OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE ARTICLE
"I am Woman" by D. Cookie Fields as told to Michelle Burford ( Essence )
"The Out Crowd" by Jason Newman ( Urb )
"The Pressure to Cover" by Kenji Yoshino ( The New York Times Magazine )
"Queer Inc." by Marc Gunther ( Fortune )
"What if It's (Sort of) a Boy and (Sort of) a Girl?" by Elizabeth Weil ( The New York Times Magazine )

OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE OVERALL COVERAGE
AsianWeek
The Chronicle of Higher Education
CosmoGIRL!
Details
People

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM ARTICLE
"BV Q&A with Julian Bond: Why this Civil Rights Icon Embraces Gay Rights" by Angela Bronner (BlackVoices.aol.com)
"The Glass Closet" by Alex Koppleman (Salon.com)
"Homosexual and 'Passionate About Islam'" by Jennifer Carlile (MSNBC.com)
"How Many Strikes?" by Erin Marie Daly (IntheFray.com)
"Is Fear the Best Way to Fight AIDS?" by Kai Wright (TheNation.com)

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM - MULTIMEDIA
"AIDS at 25: A Multimedia Perspective" (Newsweek.com)
"Being a Gay Black Man" by Ben de la Cruz, Pierre Kattar, and Sholnn Z. Freeman (WashingtonPost.com)
"Mookey's Story" by Carolyn Goossen, Daffodil Altan, and Min Lee (NewAmericaMedia.org)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC ARTIST
The Ditty Bops, Moon Over the Freeway
Final Fantasy, He Poos Clouds
Peaches, Impeach My Bush
Pet Shop Boys, Fundamental
Scissor Sisters, Ta-Dah

OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
52 by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid (DC Comics)
American Virgin by Steven T. Seagle (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Manhunter by Marc Andreyko (DC Comics)
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn (Vertigo/DC Comics)

OUTSTANDING ADVERTISING - ELECTRONIC
"Bad Weather" Orbitz
"Ejection" United Church of Christ
"Gangster of Love" Axe Clix
"Living Room" IKEA

OUTSTANDING ADVERTISING - PRINT
"Bear" Marc Jacobs
"Gay by God" Rehoboth Temple Christ Conscious Church
"Jack/Jack" Paris Las Vegas
"Madame President" Svedka Vodka
"Suits" Paris Las Vegas

OUTSTANDING LOS ANGELES THEATER
Bluebonnet Court , by Zsa Zsa Gershick
Doubt , by John Patrick Shanley
A Man of No Importance , book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake , by Matthew Bourne, music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Play It Cool , book by Larry Dean Harris, music by Phillip Swann, lyrics by Mark Winkler

OUTSTANDING NEW YORK THEATER:  BROADWAY & OFF - BROADWAY
25 Questions for a Jewish Mother by Kate Moira Ryan with Judy Gold
The History Boys by Alan Bennett
The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane
Measure for Pleasure by David Grimm
[title of show] by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell

OUTSTANDING NEW YORK THEATER:  OFF - OFF BROADWAY
33 to Nothing by Grant James Varjas
Candy and Dorothy by David Johnston
Dina Martina: Sedentary Lady by Grady West
Kiss and Cry by Tom Rowan
Sinner by Ben Payne

Special Honorees Bios

Patti LaBelle
Excellence in Media Award
In over 40 years in the music business, two-time Grammy-winning recording artist Patti LaBelle has firmly established herself as one of the true legends of R&B.  As the front-woman of 1960s quartet, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, the 70s trio, LaBelle, and as a multi-platinum solo artist, she helped lay the groundwork for the many artists who would follow in her footsteps.  In addition to her extraordinary musical achievements, LaBelle has long been a champion for LGBT rights and AIDS-related charities. She was one of the first celebrities to criticize the AIDS crisis being wrongly labeled as a "gay disease," and is the spokeswoman for the National Minority AIDS Council's "Live Long, Sugar" campaign.  In addition to performing at NYC Gay Pride and Gay Games IV, LaBelle has spoken out against discrimination and has voiced her support for marriage equality.

The Excellence in Media Award is presented to media professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.  Past recipients include Billy Crystal, Julianne Moore, Diane Sawyer, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, and Phil Donahue.

Tom Ford
Vito Russo Award
Tom Ford is among the most highly respected and successful designers today. The winner of numerous design awards he is widely credited for reviving fashion houses Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent through influential collections and provocative ad campaigns that pushed the fashion and sexual envelope propelling Gucci into one of the largest and most profitable luxury brands in the world. In 2004 Ford left Gucci Group and formed his own company creating the TOM FORD brand launching signature beauty and eyewear collections in 2005 and 2006. This coming April the first Tom Ford store will open in New York City on Madison Avenue to coincide with the much anticipated debut of the Tom Ford menswear and accessory collection. Ford has consistently provided personal and professional involvement with humanitarian and AIDS related charities including raising over one million dollars for AIDS Project Los Angeles, from which he received the "Commitment to Life Award". Ford has always been straightforward about being gay and has been with his partner, writer Richard Buckley, for twenty years.

The Vito Russo Award is named after a founding member of GLAAD and the author of The Celluloid Closet .  The award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.  Previous Vito Russo Award honorees include Rosie O'Donnell, Alan Cumming, Nathan Lane, Cherry Jones, Elton John, Liz Smith, k.d. lang, David LaChapelle, and RuPaul.

Kate Clinton
Pioneer Award
With a sharp tongue to match an even sharper mind, comedian and writer Kate Clinton has spent the last quarter century cracking up audiences with her incisive observations on life and politics. And what's more, the self-described "fumerist" (feminist humorist) has done so, to amazing success, as an openly gay woman.  Since beginning her performance career in 1981, Clinton has made a staggering number of standup, stage, and TV appearances.  Additionally, she has published two books, and written for The Rosie O'Donnell show , The New York Times , and The Advocate .  A longstanding and vocal presence in the gay movement, Clinton has helped raise millions for LGBT organizations, and received a lifetime achievement award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. And most refreshingly, Clinton has never hesitated to put her lesbian identity front-and-center in her life and her career.  As she puts it, "Coming out as a lesbian has been great practice for saying dangerous things."

The Pioneer Award is presented to a pioneering individual, group or outlet that made a significant contribution to the development of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-inclusive media images prior to the existence of the GLAAD Media Awards.

Martina Navratilova
Stephen F. Kolzak Award
Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Martina Navratilova became one of the first professional sports figures to come out in 1981, at the height of her legendary singles career.  Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Navratilova emigrated to the United States in 1975 to pursue her professional dreams in an atmosphere of freedom.  She has won a record 167 career singles titles and 178 career doubles titles, including 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 41 Grand Slam doubles titles, and a record 9 Wimbledon women's singles titles. Throughout her career, which ended in 2006, Navratilova has also worked tirelessly on behalf of LGBT rights, including addressing the historic 1993 March on Washington which inspired her to create the Rainbow Card.  The Rainbow Card is an affinity credit card which allows users to donate to the LGBT community simply by using a credit card.  To date the program has raised more than 2 million dollars for LGBT non-profit organizations.

The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is named after a highly successful Los Angeles casting director who devoted the last part of his life to fighting AIDS-phobia and homophobia in the entertainment industry.  The award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.  Previous Stephen F. Kolzak honorees include Melissa Etheridge, Bill Condon, Todd Haynes, Alan Ball, Ellen DeGeneres, and Sir Ian McKellen.

Robert Gant
Davidson/Valentini Award
Among the many tall, square-jawed leading men that populate the entertainment industry, there are a remarkably few who are openly gay. When Robert Gant came out publicly in the pages of The Advocate in 2002, he firmly established himself as an actor whose honesty matched his talent.  For four seasons Gant portrayed Ben Bruckner, Michael's boyfriend, on the hit Showtime series Queer as Folk .  Ben and Michael tackled several groundbreaking storylines, including the complexities of a mixed-HIV-status relationship, marriage equality, and becoming foster parents to an HIV-positive homeless youth.  Since that show wrapped in 2005, he has continued acting while also moving behind the camera with the creation of Mythgarden Productions, which produced the gay-themed film Save Me , a selection of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. In recent years, Gant has also become an advocate for the often-overlooked elderly members of the LGBT community, and his activism and philanthropic activity has garnered him major awards from The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign.

The Davidson/Valentini Award is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD's first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini.  The award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. Previous recipients include Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Alec Mapa, Clive Barker, B.D. Wong, and Sandra Bernhard.

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon
Pioneer Award
The movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights as we know it today simply would not exist without the activism of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.  In 1955 they founded the Daughters of Bilitis, one of the first gay rights organizations in the United States, and through that group distributed the first lesbian publication, The Ladder . Over the next fifty-plus years, Martin and Lyon published the highly influential book Lesbian/Woman , and founded or made significant contributions to organizations such as the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, the National Organization for Women, and Old Lesbians Organizing for Change.  In 2004, at San Francisco City Hall, Martin and Lyon became the first same-sex couple in the United States to have their marriage recognized by a government entity following Mayor Gavin Newsom's vow to grant full marriage equality in his city, and the same year, the Sundance Channel aired the GLAAD Media Award-nominated documentary about their lives, No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon .  GLAAD is but one of many LGBT organizations who owe these women a tremendous debt of gratitude.  

The Pioneer Award is given to a pioneering individual, group, or media outlet that made a significant contribution to the development of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-inclusive media images prior to the creation of the GLAAD Media Awards.

Jaime Bayly
Visibilidad Award
Openly bisexual Jaime Bayly has long been a presence in the Spanish language literary world, as well as on Spanish-language television.  Don't Tell Anyone , the semi-autobiographical first book by the Peruvian-born writer, was made into a film in 1998.  It tells the story of a boy from Lima who is coming to terms with his own sexual orientation.  This year, the film version of My Brother's Sister , another gay-themed Bayly novel, was released theatrically in the United States.  In 2006, Bayly received death threats after publicly denouncing the homophobic diatribes of Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala.  Bayly currently lives in Miami with his boyfriend, Argentine writer Luis Corbacho, where he hosts Bayly , his self-titled talk show, five days a week on Mega TV.

The Visibilidad Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Spanish-language media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.  Richard Pérez-Feria was the first recipient.