Know HIV/AIDS and Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself Campaigns

Know HIV/AIDS, the public education initiative created by Viacom and The Kaiser Family Foundation is a multi-year effort designed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other STDs, including how to avoid infection. This massive project comprises television and radio public service announcements, television programming which incorporates AIDS-related themes into top-rated shows, outdoor advertisements, print and online resources, working with community organizations, as well as testing facilities. Especially cited in the Peabody Award are productions from the MTV Campaign, Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself, a sexual health campaign that is part of the arger Viacom/Kaiser effort. Numerous public service announcements were cited by the Peabody Board as outstanding contributions to the campaign. Two television programs are also especially recognized. The Social History of HIV provides vital information placing immediate issues into a larger context. The program was produced by MTV News & DOCS with executive producer Dave Sirulnick, writer Amy Brill, and producers Danielle Berger and Betsy Forhan. A Walk in Your Shoes: Living with HIV/AIDS addresses the stigma attached to those living with the disease. This important project is a production of The N. and Dancing Toad Productions. The program comes from Dancing Toad Productions. It was directed by John Chiappardi, and produced by Elaine Frontain Bryant and Alyssa Cooper, with executive producers Steven Lerner and Amy Friedman. For providing extraordinary contributions to one of the major public health issues of our time, a Peabody Award goes to the Viacom/Kaiser Family Foundation campaign with special recognition to the MTV Networks’ contributions to the project.