Date: Fri, 7 May 1999 10:16:13 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: LARRY KING TO BE HONORED AT THE 10TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Cathy Renna, Director of Community Relations ph: (202) 986-1360 e-mail: renna@glaad.org LARRY KING TO BE HONORED AT THE 10TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY MEDIA ADVOCACY GROUP TO PRESENT PEABODY-WINNER WITH 1999 VISION AWARD IN WASHINGTON, DC NEW YORK, NY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1999 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today announced that it will present its 1999 Vision Award to best-selling author, syndicated columnist, radio personality and Peabody Award-winning talk show host Larry King. King will be on hand to accept the award at the final ceremony of the 10th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, to be held Saturday, May 8, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. The Vision Award is presented to a media professional who has had long-term vision and commitment to making a significant difference in society by promoting equal rights for lesbians and gay men. Created in 1998, actor Judith Light was the first recipient of GLAAD's Vision Award. Larry King has been in the broadcasting industry for more than 40 years. During that time, he has conducted more than 30,000 interviews and has accumulated a host of industry accolades, including multiple Peabody Awards and ten CableACE Awards. In 1997, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. King has consistently included issues of concern to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in his writing and programming. Among the topics he has covered in the last year alone: the murder of Matthew Shepard; workplace discrimination based upon sexual orientation; equal marriage rights for same-sex couples; the cancellation of Ellen, the first network television program to feature an openly lesbian lead; and many more. And while other media outlets were sensationalistic in their coverage of the high-profile 1997 murder of designer Gianni Versace, King covered the topic with integrity and fairness. Recent guests on Larry King Live have included Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche, Elton John, Martina Navratilova, Andrew Sullivan, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Chastity Bono, Elizabeth Birch and Ellen DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres. "Larry's professional integrity, his dynamic personality, and his body of work have made him one of the most compelling voices in the media today," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry. "He's used that voice to advocate for fairness and equality time and again, proving himself to be one of our community's most trusted allies. You'd be hard-pressed to think of someone more deserving of recognition." Presented in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, each year, the GLAAD Media Awards honor individuals and projects in the media and entertainment industries for their balanced and accurate representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and the issues that affect their lives. Also being honored in Washington, DC, is Armistead Maupin, bestselling author of the Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series. Recipients of special awards already presented in New York (March 28) and Los Angeles (April 17) were Whoopi Goldberg (Vanguard Award), Melissa Etheridge & Julie Cypher (Stephen F. Kolzak Award) and RuPaul (Vito Russo Entertainer Award). Absolut Vodka is the Platinum Underwriter of the 1999 GLAAD Media Awards, and American Airlines is participating as GLAAD's official airline. For further information, or to purchase tickets, please contact Levy, Pazanti & Associates at (888) 655-6529 or (310) 201-5033. General event and ticket information can also be found on GLAAD's webiste, located at http://www.glaad.org. The Media Awards CyberAuction, featuring a signed Melissa Etheridge guitar and walk-on roles for both Frasier and Will & Grace, is also accessible online. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay media advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of combating homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. -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 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" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. 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