Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Broadcast Media, Concert Events for World AIDS Day 2003
Three billion people in 90 countries will be able to view the Nelson Mandela AIDS benefit concert when it airs on MTV on World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1, BBC News reports. According to BBC News, the concert is "something of a milestone in the campaign by entertainers and artists" to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide (BBC News, 11/24). Former South African President Nelson Mandela last month launched a worldwide phone and Internet campaign to raise awareness and money to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. The international initiative, called "46664" after Mandela's prisoner number during his nearly 20-year incarceration at the South African prison on Robben Island, urges people to call a premium-rate phone number -- a different one for each of the 17 countries to be involved in the program -- or visit the initiative's Web site to hear a celebrity message and not-yet-released songs from recording artists. Callers will also be able to hear the song "46664 (Long Walk to Freedom)" which was written about Mandela by the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, the late Joe Strummer of the Clash and U2's Bono. Callers and visitors to the Web site are also registered as supporters of a petition that calls on all world governments to "declare a global AIDS emergency." Although the details have not yet been established, the campaign plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from the phone calls to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The initiative also includes the concert, which will be performed and taped on Nov. 29 in Cape Town, South Africa, with performances by Bono, Beyonce and Queen, along with Anastacia and Ms. Dynamite, among others. A CD and DVD of the concert are expected to be released early next year to benefit the campaign (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/23).
UNAIDS Event
UNAIDS, along with the African Services Committee, Church World Service and Artists Against AIDS Worldwide, are planning to host an event, called "Live and Let Live -- World AIDS Day Commemoration 2003," at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City to commemorate World AIDS Day, according to a UNAIDS release. The event, which is scheduled to be emceed by Jacque Reid, an anchor for "BET Nightly News," will include music, performances and testimony from people living with HIV/AIDS. Other participants will include Harlemm Lee, winner of NBC's "Fame" reality television show; Baaba Maal, a musician from Senegal; Nitin Sawhney, a recording artist from India; Mexican singer/performer Lila Downs; the South African Sinikithemba Choir; and HIV/AIDS advocates from the United States, Ukraine, Brazil and South Africa. The event is expected to be the largest ever to take place in the United States in recognition of World AIDS Day, according to the release (UNAIDS release, 11/24).
Broadcast Media Coverage of World AIDS Day 2003
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report summarizes below some of the numerous broadcast programs with coverage marking World AIDS Day. The programs are airing as part of the "KNOW HIV/AIDS" campaign, a partnership of Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The campaign is aimed at raising HIV/AIDS awareness through public service announcements, television and radio programming and free print and online content. KNOW HIV/AIDS, which has a total ad placement value of $120 million, is targeted at both the general population and groups hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, such as people under age 25, minorities, women and men who have sex with men. The initiative has already created 49 television, radio and outdoor ads that are appearing on Viacom's television networks CBS and UPN and 200 affiliates; cable outlets MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, MTV2, TV Land, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Showtime, TNN and Comedy Central; more than 180 Infinity radio stations; and on billboards, buses and bus shelters (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/2).
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BET: "Rap City: Tha Bassment" will air a special two-hour episode commemorating World AIDS Day, including information on HIV testing, on Dec. 1 at 4:00 p.m. ET. In addition, "106 & Park" will broadcast a live special with HIV prevention information on Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT, and "BET Nightly News," airing at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT, will include HIV-related segments. BET also is planning to run "The Naked Truth II," a documentary focusing on HIV/AIDS among a group of six African-American women.
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MTV: The network will air a "Social History on HIV/AIDS" on Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET/PT, which includes a "look back over more than two decades" of "personal, scientific and cultural changes of the HIV/AIDS epidemic" (KNOW HIV/AIDS release, 11/24). MTV also will run an episode of its "Crashing With..." series, featuring the band Good Charlotte performing a free concert after MTV and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States hosted a sexual health forum in Pennsylvania (MTV release, 11/25).
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Nickelodeon: "Nick News" will air a special episode, titled "The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS," hosted by Linda Ellerbee, who goes to South Africa to explore the affect of HIV/AIDS on young people in the country. The program will air at 9:00 p.m ET/PT on Dec. 1.
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Showtime: The network will air on Dec. 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT "Longtime Companion," a movie about close friends affected by HIV/AIDS. Showtime will also premier the "New York University Filmmakers -- KNOW HIV/AIDS," a series of six short films that explore AIDS-related themes among young filmmakers at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
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The N: The network will air on Dec. 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT "A Walk in Your Shoes: Living with HIV/AIDS," which follows an HIV-negative teenager named Trevor as he experiences a day in the life of Tyler, an HIV-positive teen in Colorado.
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VH1: Actress Ashley Judd hosts "AIDS -- A Pop Culture History," which will include a look back at the effects AIDS has had on popular culture. The program will air on Dec.1 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (KNOW HIV/AIDS release, 11/24).