October 30, 2008

CableFAX Program Awards: Most Consciousness-Raising Content

Winner: HDNet World Report: A Silent War, A Violent Peace: Uganda's Child Soldiers, HDNet

Despite the best efforts of U.S. news operations, some of the world’s most compelling human-interest stories go unreported here. We salute HDNet’s raw, poignant probe into one such issue — the recruiting and conscripting of children by rebel forces in Uganda and the subsequent failure of the Western concept of justice to appropriately address these most complex of war victims. Through interviews and footage, including some with the usually guarded International Criminal Court, A Silent War reveals the plight of the child soldiers and the struggle of a society trying to reintegrate a generation of war-hardened youth. The three-part doc raises awareness not only about the specifics of Uganda but of overriding global issues of justice and international intervention.

Honorable Mentions:
Black Magic, ESPN: Black Magic not only raised the profile of often overlooked players and coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, it sparked conversations between filmmaker Dan Klores and Congress about a possible reinvestigation of a murder.

Saving a Species: Gorillas on The Brink, Animal Planet: Celebrity endorsements can have mixed results, overshadowing the cause. Animal Planet’s account of a visit by Natalie Portman and Jack Hanna to the Virunga National Park in Africa just weeks after mysterious killings there of four gorillas is an example of how to do it with great sensitivity to the plight of the animals.

"We Have Work to Do" PSA Campaign, Cable Positive: Cable Positive called attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by giving a face and voice to infected people who share their life-altering stories.

Return to 2008 CableFAX Program Awards table of contents.