The Women's Media Center announced its honorees for The 2014 Women’s Media Awards on Tuesday October 29th at Capitale in New York City.
The honorees are:
- Amma Asante, BAFTA Award winning Writer/Director of A Way of Life and Director of Belle.
- Ursula M. Burns, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Corporation.
- Katie Couric, Global News Anchor for Yahoo News.
- Barbara Walters, Creator & Executive Producer of The View, and ABC News Special Correspondent.
The Women’s Media Awards recognize and honor game-changers for women in media. By deciding who gets to talk, what creates the debate, who writes, and what is important enough to be visible, the media shapes our understanding of who we are and what we can be. The Women’s Media Awards shine a light on this important issue.
Pat Mitchell, President & CEO of The Paley Center for Media and Founding Co- Chair of The Women’s Media Center, will present the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award to Katie Couric. “From the first moment I met Katie Couric, when she was a young reporter at CNN, I saw the spark and believed that she would rise to great levels of accomplishment and recognition … and so she has,” says Pat Mitchell. “Through her ever present smile and enthusiasm to her broad intellect and unflagging energy to her curiosity about the world and her ability to make even the most complex stories understandable and memorable, Katie has not only become one of our most popular television personalities but she has also been a part of making history while reporting it. Many times Katie was the first, and always she was the one we could count on to be our surrogate, our voice, our guide, and sometimes our conscience, too. It’s deeply meaningful to me to award Katie, a personal friend and professional colleague, an award that honors all that she has done so far, knowing that there are so many more accomplishments ahead.”
Gloria Steinem, Co-Founder of The Women’s Media Center, will present the Trailblazing Media Award to Barbara Walters. “Barbara is a true glass-ceiling-breaker in the world of media,” says Gloria Steinem. “From a time when a woman would not be taken seriously reporting hard news, her relentlessness, bravery, intelligence and vision has changed the landscape of television journalism. Her skillful, timely and probing interviewing, her ability to ask the questions the public would most like to hear, and her fearlessness in challenging the world’s most powerful leaders, has made her one of the most influential journalists in the history of television, and has provided us with a deep chronicle of the people that influenced the latter 20th century and a big chunk of the 21st Century.”
Robin Morgan, best-selling author and award winning poet, Co-Founder of The Women’s Media Center, and Host of WMC’s Live with Robin Morgan, will present the Directorial Excellence in Film Award for “Belle” to Amma Asante and her film Belle. “Amma’s film Belle tells an extraordinary story, showing a woman unafraid to be relevant, outspoken and proud, and reexamining the history of slavery at a time when girls continue to be sold into subjugation around the world,” says Robin Morgan. “Amma’s dedication to this film, her love, tenacity and courage despite countless obstacles, is a mighty example of a visionary female artist at work, leading and bringing forth a deeply resonant and important piece of work about position, identity and status.”
Carol Jenkins, award-winning journalist, author and founding President of the Women’s Media Center, will present the Carol Jenkins Visible and Powerful Media Award to Ursula M. Burns. “As a woman who has risen steadily through the ranks at Xerox – starting as a summer intern to becoming the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company – Ursula has shown how anything is possible with true dedication, courage and self-belief,” says Carol Jenkins. “She has proven to be an exceptional role model who fearlessly put herself front and center as a visible leader and transformed Xerox from a predominantly technology company to a technology-enabled services enterprise.”
Gloria Steinem adds, “Ursula is an outstanding example that women should have no fear of striving for the highest positions in the key growth areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and of the invaluable importance of education in empowerment.”
The Social Media Award will be presented to an honoree to be announced. The honoree is selected online by a group of distinguished digital journalists, bloggers, and thought leaders.
“I am so proud that the Women’s Media Center will be honoring such a diverse range of powerful and accomplished women this year,” says Jane Fonda, two-time Academy Award-winning actress, humanitarian, activist and Co-Founder of The Women’s Media Center, “These woman, in the courage and skill of their achievements, have been truly challenging how we see the world and making their voices heard.”
The Co-Founders of the Women’s Media Center are Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem.
The Co-Chairs for The 2014 Women’s Media Awards are Donna Deitch, Lauren Embrey, Jane Fonda, Sheila Johnson, Robin Morgan, Bonnie Schaefer, Regina K. Scully, Gloria Steinem, and Mary and Steven Swig.
The Women’s Media Center’s goal is to make women visible and powerful in the media. Founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, the WMC works with media to ensure that women’s realities are covered and women’s voices are heard.
“The Women’s Media Center exists to change the status of women in media. Because 51 percent of our population is women, and only 3 percent of all clout positions in media are held by women, the Women’s Media Center Awards were created to honor champions for women who use their media platforms to tell the stories, facts, and solutions crucial to all viewers, and to advance opportunities for women in media,” says Julie Burton, President of the Women’s Media Center. “Because media tells our stories and influences the role of women in every part of society, we are proud to honor these amazing women who set the standard for what media should look like when it gives voice to the female half of the country.”
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