USC Annenberg honors writers and producers for addressing timely medical issues in television storylines

LOS ANGELES, September 20 – Hollywood, Health & Society, a partnership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the USC Annenberg School’s Norman Lear Center today announced the winners of the eighth annual Sentinel for Health Awards. The storylines tackled prominent medical issues, such as cancer, HIV-infection in the workplace, parent-teen communication about sex, postpartum depression, and availability of organs for transplantation. The awards were presented at an evening ceremony held at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Wednesday night in North Hollywood.

“Television writers and producers are in a unique position both to entertain and to inform viewers,” said Martin Kaplan, the Norman Lear Chair at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and director of the Lear Center. “The Sentinel for Health Awards are a chance to shine a spotlight on master storytellers who use their power not only to make hits, but also to educate audiences about crucial issues.”

The NBC primetime drama Friday Night Lights received first place in the primetime drama category for “I Think We Should Have Sex,” a storyline about the critical parent-child interaction when a teenager is thinking about having sex; NBC’s Law & Order took home second place honors for a storyline on veterans’ mental health and third place honors in the same category went to CBS’s CSI: NY for a storyline about HIV.

The ABC soap opera General Hospital took first place in daytime drama for a storyline about a possible HIV infection from a needle stick. The ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy took first place for primetime minor storyline on breast cancer with “Oh, the Guilt,” and NBC’s Scrubs took first place in primetime comedy for a storyline about postpartum depression.

TeleFutura took home its first Sentinel Award, in the Spanish-language telenovela category, for “Con Dominio Total.” The storyline from Así es la Vida discussed issues of safe sex among a wide variety of characters.

The Sentinel for Health Awards recognize exemplary achievements of television storylines that inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives. First-round judging was conducted by more than 100 topic experts who evaluated accuracy of health depictions. Twenty expert panels participated in this activity at the CDC and NCI. The sixteen finalists were then evaluated at USC by an expert panel representing entertainment, academic and public health organizations. Second-round judges scored finalists on entertainment value and potential benefit to the viewing audience.

The Sentinel for Health Awards were established in 2000 and previously recognized seven daytime drama storylines as winners with “Lucinda’s Breast Cancer,” As The World Turns (CBS) winning in 2006. The 2004 Awards also acknowledged achievement in primetime drama and comedy categories for the first time (primetime drama, primetime minor storyline and primetime comedy categories), with “Harvest,” Numb3rs (CBS); “BCRA- Breast Cancer Risks,” ER (NBC) and “The Kidney Stays in the Picture,” George Lopez (ABC) winning in 2006, respectively.  In 2005, the Awards also introduced a new Spanish-language telenovela category. The 2006 Spanish-language telenovela winner was “Don Pedro’s Diabetes,” Amarte Así (Telemundo).

Funded by the CDC and NCI, Hollywood, Health & Society provides entertainment industry professionals with accurate and timely information for health storylines, including free consultations and briefings with CDC and NCI experts. The program is based at the USC Annenberg School’s Norman Lear Center as a one-stop shop for writers, producers and others in search of credible information on a wide range of public health topics. For more information about resources for writers, go to the Hollywood, Health & Society Web site at www.usc.edu/hhs.

The Norman Lear Center is a multidisciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce and society. Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the Lear Center works to bridge the gap between the entertainment industry and academia, and between them and the public. For more information, visit www.learcenter.org.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation’s leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,900 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees in journalism, communication, public diplomacy and public relations. For more information, please visit www.annenberg.usc.edu.

2007 Sentinel for Health Award winners

Daytime Drama
1st Place: "Patrick’s HIV Scare," General Hospital (ABC)
Topic: HIV
2nd Place: "Alexis’ Lung Cancer," General Hospital (ABC)
Topic: Lung cancer
3rd Place: "Taylor’s Alcohol Addiction," The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
Topic: Alcohol addiction

Spanish-Language Telenovela
1st Place: "Con Dominio Total,” Así es la Vida (TeleFutura)
Topic: Safe sex

Primetime Comedy
1st Place: "My Friend With Money," Scrubs (NBC)
Topic: Postpartum depression
2nd Place: "HMO/Insurance Storyline," Ugly Betty (ABC)
Topic: Health insurance

Primetime Minor Storyline
1st Place: "Oh, the Guilt," Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Topic: Breast cancer
2nd Place: "Paired Organ Exchange,” ER (NBC)
Topic: Organ donation and transplantation
3rd Place: “My Favorite Mistake,” Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Topic: Diabetes

Primetime Drama
1st Place: "I Think We Should Have Sex," Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Topic: Teenage sex
2nd Place: "Over Here," Law & Order (NBC)
Topic: Veterans’ mental health
3rd Place: “Stella HIV Story,” CSI: NY (CBS)
Topic: HIV
Finalist: "Waste Not," Numb3rs (CBS)
Topic: Environmental health
Finalist: "Resignation," House (FOX)
Topic: Depression
Finalist: "Northern Exposure," Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
Topic: Infertility
Finalist: "Uncle," Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Topic: Depression

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