Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 16:58:51 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: L.A. GLAAD FAIRNESS AWARDS HONOR BRAGMAN NYMAN CAFARELLI AND WORLD OF WONDER MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE L.A. GLAAD FAIRNESS AWARDS HONOR BRAGMAN NYMAN CAFARELLI AND WORLD OF WONDER "The commitment and contribution that these two companies have made toward enhancing the general public and entertainment industry's accurate perception of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is immeasurable." - Joan M. Garry, Executive Director, GLAAD Media Contact: Scott Seomin, Entertainment Media Director phone: (323) 658-6775, ext. 14 e-mail: seomin@glaad.org LOS ANGELES, LA, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1998-The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) will present its 1998 Fairness Awards to media relations and marketing firm Bragman Nyman Cafarelli and production and management company World of Wonder on Wednesday, December 2, in Beverly Hills. GLAAD presents the Fairness Awards to individuals and institutions that demonstrate exemplary leadership in combating discrimination based on sexual orientation through programs of education, communications and civil rights protection. "World of Wonder and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli were chosen for 1998 GLAAD Fairness Awards for principles of fairness in both their work and in their organizational policies," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry. "The commitment and contribution that these two companies have made toward enhancing the general public and entertainment industry's accurate perception of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is immeasurable." Bragman Nyman Cafarelli is the largest gay majority-owned public relations firm in the world, specializing in entertainment and consumer products. Their impressive client roster includes Whoopi Goldberg, Cameron Diaz, The Steve Tisch Company and Nickelodeon Films, as well as Tanqueray's American AIDS Rides and Levi Strauss & Company. They have worked to create the public relations success of special events for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and HIV/AIDS related causes which have raised over $100 million for community services. In 1989, Howard Bragman helped to make the issue of lesbians and gay men in the military front page news with vital public relations work on behalf of gay Midshipman Joe Steffan. The firm has also managed the coming out of many actors which brought the issue of "gay people are everywhere" to a demographic often untouched by activists and has represented virtually every national gay and AIDS organization including: American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), AIDS Project Los Angeles, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign and Project Angel Food. "For a decade this agency has been committed to making a difference in the lives of gay men and lesbians and those living with AIDS and HIV," said chairman and founder, Howard Bragman. "This honor truly belongs to the staff and clients of Bragman Nyman Cafarelli who have done the hard work, made the difficult decisions, and have became a catalyst for progress and enlightenment." World of Wonder, owned by openly gay life partners Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, is a production company that has produced a number of gay-themed documentaries. Those include Tickled Pink, which traces the development of lesbian and gay images on television, Party Monster, a favorite at the Sundance Film Festival and Drop Dead Gorgeous, a portrait of HIV positive comedian Steve Moore which won a Cable Ace Award for Best Directing. This summer, World of Wonder's The Real Ellen Story gave thousands at lesbian and gay film festivals and then on cable's Bravo, a behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking "coming out" episode of Ellen and the making of the sitcom's final episode. They also manage drag superstar RuPaul, producing her VH1 talk show-introducing the world to its first cross-over gender illusionist. "We've spent years being told our ideas were too marginal, too cutting edge and too gay for the mainstream," said Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. "We're glad that someone disagrees with that notion and honored to be acknowledged by such an important organization as GLAAD." Past GLAAD Fairness Awards recipients include: Home Box Office's Sheila Nevins; the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Mathilde Krim, Ph.D. of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR); and Showtime Chairman & CEO, Matthew C. Blank. On Thursday, November 5 the New York Fairness Awards will be presented to Leonard Riggio, Chairman and CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom, co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics. The Los Angeles Fairness Awards luncheon will be held on Wednesday, December 2, 1998, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Tickets are $300 and $500 (for preferred seating and a program listing) and are $3,000 for tables of 10 (includes a program listing) and $5,000 for corporate sponsors (includes a program listing plus an ad). For ticket information and table sponsorships for the event, please contact Byron Potts at (323) 658-6775, ext. 24. GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representations 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. 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