CableFAX 2009 Program Awards: Best Show or Series/Public Affairs
WINNER: IT’S YOUR CALL WITH LYNN DOYLE: VOLUNTARY BREAST REMOVAL, CN8: THE COMCAST NETWORK
With new medical tests that can detect breast cancer earlier (and even predict the likelihood it will strike), some women are choosing to remove their breasts before cancer has a chance to emerge or spread. It’s a controversial subject, and Lynn Doyle treated it with her usual grace and honesty during this special that ran last October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. Doyle’s guests included women who had made the choice, as well as a doctor who often must counsel women struggling with their options. And Doyle didn’t stop there, taking cameras to each profiled woman’s home to get a personal glimpse into their decision-making process. Viewers who called into the show overwhelmingly supported the guests’ decisions and, interestingly, admitted they would have done the same rather than live with the risk of cancer striking or returning. It’s powerful stuff. And Doyle continues to tackle tough subjects with poignancy and passion.
Honorable Mentions:
Botswana: The President’s Tour, Travel Channel: In a continent cited more for its problems than its beauty, Botswana stands out as an example of Africa’s glowing potential. President Festus Mogae takes host Oliver Steeds on an engaging tour, showing how Botswana developed from a poor backwater into one of the most prosperous African nations.
No LOL in HIV, Cable Positive: We wouldn’t call these short PSAs full cable programs, but the importance of their subject matter and message impressed our judges. These clever spots — in which teenagers pose for class photos while a narrator invokes their HIV status — were created in only six days by Cable Positive’s Youth AIDS Media Institute University. The humor is dark. The prevention message is vital.
Political Update with Paul Lisnek, Comcast CN100 Chicago: Lisnek’s rapid-fire style and crisp presentation of well-researched questions are his hallmarks — and the people of Chicago have been the better for his presence on their TV. With big-name interviews (including Barack Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Lisnek always comes prepared. And it shows.
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