Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 17:15:13 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: DAY OF COMPASSION KICKS OFF WITH MULTIMEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE INTERNET COMPANIES JOIN DAYTIME TV STARS FOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Liz Tracey, GLAAD (212) 807-1700 Email: tracey@glaad.org Lynne Gabriel, Hollywood Supports (213) 962-6203 Email: lgabriel@hsupports.org DAY OF COMPASSION KICKS OFF WITH MULTIMEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE INTERNET COMPANIES JOIN DAYTIME TV STARS FOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS New York, NY June 9, 1997-The Fifth Annual Day of Compassion will kick off its campaign with a multimedia press conference on Wednesday June 18, 1997 at 10:30 a.m. at CyberCafe in New York. The conference will bring together participants from daytime television and the Internet to launch the event, designed to model compassion and support for people affected by HIV and AIDS. A live Internet hookup at the conference will display the various Web sites and Internet providers who are participating in the event. Oprah! and The Rosie O'Donnell Show will join a host of other participants including every daytime drama, in dedicating their programming on that day. Talk shows that will participate include Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael and Maury Povich. The Broadway community will be honoring those lost to HIV and AIDS by dimming the marquis lights at 8:00 PM on June 20. Day of Compassion will provide an entire day of programming by network and cable television, print media, Internet providers and media and radio stations to raise awareness around the issues faced by those affected by HIV and AIDS. While many of the participants have joined forces to bring this event to their audiences before, this is the first time that on-line participation has been available. "This is a day that those who work in the media can point to and be proud," said Lynne Gabriel of Hollywood Supports. "It's a day when we reach millions of people, through many different windows, and enable them to see just how important AIDS still is to all of us. Day of Compassion brings the different media together for a purpose, and whether it's a public service announcement, a full hour of programming, or a conversation in a daytime soap, it reminds us that the crisis is not over." Day of Compassion began in 1993, when Los Angeles actor Neil Tadken watched an AIDS-themed episode of One Life To Live. Inspired by its honest communication of the AIDS crisis, he contacted other daytime dramas, and more than half agreed that year to participate in a day devoted to portraying compassion to people affected by HIV and AIDS. Day of Compassion is an annual project of Hollywood Supports, underwritten in part by a grant from the Permanent Charities of the Entertainment Industries. Cable Positive, the cable industry's AIDS awareness organization, and GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, have also generously given their time and support in generating participation and awareness for this year's Day of Compassion. The Day of Compassion Web site can be accessed through either http://www.hsupports.org or 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 http://www.hsupports.org/hsupports/compassion/showcompassionsite.html CyberCafe is located at 273A Lafayette Street, on the corner of Prince Street in SoHo. -30- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org 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. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.