Time Warner Cable Racks Up Beacons

Washington— Time Warner Cable took home the lion's share of trophies from the Cable Television Public Affairs Association's recent Beacon Awards ceremony, placing first in 12 categories.

The No. 2 domestic MSO was followed by No. 1 — AT&T Broadband — which received 10 Beacons at the April 24 gala. Cox Communications Inc. won six awards, Comcast Corp. garnered five and both Lifetime Television and High Speed Access Corp. won three Beacons. Nickelodeon took home a pair of trophies.

VH1's "Save the Music" campaign won the Golden Beacon Award, CTPAA's highest honor.

Among the initiatives for which Time Warner was honored was its adult-literacy campaign in Columbus, Ohio. That system donated cable-installation fees collected during August to local literacy agencies.

The MSO's Palm Desert, Calif., system won an award for its special event titled "Holocaust: Voices From The Past." Time Warner's Milwaukee operation won three awards.

AT&T's awards included one for "Cultural Diversity: Native American Tradition," an event sponsored by its Elyria, Ohio, system. Its Riverdale, Utah, system was honored for a drug abuse and violence prevention campaign.

Cox was honored for its "Get Your Vote On" campaign in New Orleans and its "Mock Election 2000" effort in Rolling Hills East, Calif.

Comcast's Detroit system won an award for its "Passport to Black History" campaign. Its Atlanta system was recognized for its "Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign 2000."

Cable Positive received the Joel A. Berger Award, which is given to an AIDS-awareness project that achieves exceptional results, for its "National HIV Testing Day 2000" campaign.

Elsewhere last week, Women in Cable & Telecommunications announced that BET Holdings Inc. president and COO Debra Lee would receive the organization's Woman of the Year Accolade, one of several awards to be presented at the organization's 20th annual Accolades Breakfast, set for June 13 at the National Show.

Lee's citation notes "her significant contribution to the cable and telecommunications industry in 2000 and for significantly raising the standards of the industry."

Time Warner Cable National Division group vice president of operations Leslie Grayson, will receive the Woman to Watch Accolade for "job excellence at the mid- to senior-management level and her strong dedication to the cable and telecommunications industry."

Home Box Office will receive the Forerunner Accolade "for having best created a level playing field for women and for their commitment to an environment that encourages, develops and promotes women to executive positions within the organization."

American Movie Classics will be awarded "A Tribute" Accolade for Reel Models: The First Women in Film
as "the original cable television production that best portrays women who have had a significant impact on past or current events and issues."

For the eighth straight year, A&E Television Networks will serve as lead sponsor for the event, said WICT.