AWARDS

	Media in the 21st Century: Hanging Up On Reform Silver Plaque As Congress considers a major rewrite of telecommunications legislation, CAN TV examines what is at stake for local communities if the telephone industry is successful in eliminating local video franchising. The program describes how corporate influence on telecom laws will affect community television stations, municipalities, and consumers. The program was made possible by a grant from The Joyce Foundation. Click here to watch.
Dissent is Not a Crime also won the Documentary Public Awareness Professional Award from the Alliance for Community Central States Region.	Dissent is Not a Crime Certificate of Merit The documentary features interviews with Puerto Rican political prisoners Carlos Alberto Torres and Oscar Lopez Rivera, who advocated for Puerto Rican independence. Dissent features an interview with Chicago-based People's Law Office attorney Jan Susler, as well as video and audio interviews with the prisoners. The program was produced in collaboration with the National Boricua Human Rights Network. Click here to watch .
2007 Hometown Video Awards The Alliance for Community Media presented six national Hometown Video Awards to Chicago winners. This competition recognizes programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats, and move viewers to experience television in a different way. The following programs won 2007 Hometown Video Awards:
	Nationally Distributed (Professional) Media In The 21st Century – Hanging Up On Reform CAN TV Click here to watch
	Documentary - Public Awareness (Professional) Turning a Corner Beyondmedia Education www.beyondmedia.org
	Making A Difference (Youth) In The Pocket Free Spirit Media Umoja Student Development Corp and CAN TV www.freespiritmedia.org
	Innovative (Youth) Live Wire: at Street-Level Street-Level Youth Media www.street-level.org/Media/LW_06.html
	Documentary - Public Awareness (Youth) Live Wire: Female Action Voicing Change Street-Level Youth Media www.street-level.org/Media/LW_06.html
The following program won an honorable mention:
	Documentary Profile (Non-professional) African American Architects Susan C. Ellis
Operation S.O.S Honors CAN TV for Haitian Programming Charitable organization Operation S.O.S. recognized CAN TV "for exposing Haitian culture in a positive light and for keeping us connected through seven different programs in French adn Creole for the past fifteen years."

2006 Hometown Video Awards

The Alliance for Community Media presented seven first-place awards to programs on CAN TV, a record number of wins for Chicago.
Award-winning programs address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats and move viewers to experience TV differently. Awards were presented as part of the 2006 Hometown Video Awards in Boston this July.

	Bill Moyers -- Facing Conservative Threats to Public Broadcasting "Nationally Distributed" CAN TV's coverage of the National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis was seen by millions of viewers via satellite and on public access channels nationwide. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation to help raise awareness about media reform issues.
	Changes "Making a Difference" High school students document the transformation of Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood. The project is a partnership between CAN TV, Free Spirit Media and the Umoja Student Development Organization.
	HoopsHIGH "Sports Coverage" High school students from Chicago's Westside produce the weekly program featuring high school basketball games. The project is a partnership between CAN TV and Free Spirit Media.
	Who Wants to Win a Scholarship - Roosevelt University "Making a Difference" In this televised academic competition, high school seniors compete for full-tuition scholarships to four Chicago universities, produced by Mary Charles, in a partnership with CAN TV and the Chicago GEAR UP Alliance.
	Annabel Lee "Computer/Video Art & Animation" and "Innovative" Producers Renee Dolezal and Don Asher worked with students at the Little Village/North Lawndale High School campus to set Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem to haunting music and images.
	Raw Voices - Teens in the Media Arts "Visual Arts" The program features video by local teens and interviews with the teen filmmakers.

Publicity Club of Chicago
   On May 6th, 2005, the Publicity Club of Chicago presented publicist Mary Rickard, in conjunction with CAN TV, the Publicity Club of Chicago’s Silver Trumpet Award for last year’s Funding Advocacy Campaign.

   When the 2004 RCN funding default and bankruptcy occurred, revealing the weaknesses of Chicago’s cable access funding structure, an effective public relations strategy was needed immediately. CAN TV’s ensuing media campaign sought to raise and maintain public awareness of the funding crisis while a resolution was found.
   CAN TV’s funding campaign involved an extensive public relations effort that adjusted focus to meet the challenges of an evolving issue. An impressive array of press coverage kept residents informed about CAN TV’s funding throughout the year. Media reports included close to 50 print placements, 9 editorials, TV news coverage, two TV features, and 20 radio placements. In addition, more than 25 CAN TV programs and announcements addressed the crisis.

   The final consequence of this prolonged effort was a three-year funding solution for CAN TV. Comcast agreed to provide additional funding and RCN settled its obligation in one of the disputed cable areas. The City Council called for all of the parties to revisit and resolve the funding structure during that time.

Chicago International Television Awards
   San Lucas Workers Center (SLWC) and CAN TV were recently awarded a Silver Plaque by the Chicago International Television Awards.
   The winning video, entitled Working for Justice: Challenging the Abuses of Chicago’s Day Labor Industry, was selected for this honor in a competition filled with hundreds of entrants from around the world. The program examines the hazardous and unfair conditions faced by day laborers and documents the collective struggles of SLWC worker/members to defend their rights.
   The project was made possible in part by a grant from the Crossroads Fund. Greg Boozell, Technology Director, coordinated the project for CAN TV.

Midwest Association of Haitian American Women
   The Midwest Association of Haitian American Women (MAHAW) recently recognized CAN TV’s support and contribution to the Haitian American community with an award of leadership and service. The Haitian community has a strong local television presence with five regular shows on CAN TV channels featuring Haitian culture and issues. Azaka Ajanaku, CAN TV board member and producer of Unity in Diversity-
C'est la Vie, is working with MAHAW on a

series of programs dedicated to health issues. A focus on breast cancer is of particular importance to the group, which has recently lost three of its members to the disease.

MAHAW President Monique Germain said, “CAN TV has given voice to many groups who otherwise would not have been heard. We want to thank you for creating this platform of discourse.”

2005 Hometown Video Awards
   Free Spirit Media and Umoja Student Development Corporation with CAN TV are the winners of a 2005 Hometown Video Award from the Washington D.C. based Alliance for Community Media. The program, We Are Being Delayed, won in the category of Making a Difference - Youth. This documentary examines the functions and history of the Chicago Transit Authority, focusing specifically on recent funding issues and service cuts.
   CAN TV producer, Taylor Moore won in the Spiritual/Inspirational-Youth category for her production, Words to Live By: Enter Into His Gates with Thanksgiving. The 16-year-old inspirational speaker and musician has received national recognition for her moving speeches and video productions.
   An Honorable Mention in the Making a Difference category was awarded to the San Lucas Worker’s Center for Working for Justice: Challenging the Abuses of Chicago’s Day Labor Industry, a production done in partnership with CAN TV. The program examines the hazardous and unfair conditions faced by day laborers and documents the collective struggles of SLWC worker/members to defend their rights.

   Multi-media artist Mark Nelson received an Honorable Mention in the Visual Arts category for his work Vecinos, a video documentary on artists in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
   The Hometown Video Awards attract thousands of entries from public access centers across the country.

African American Contractors Association
   In March, CAN TV’s Executive Director, Barbara Popovic, was presented with the African American Contractors Association (AACA) Community Achievement Award: “AACA’s Outstanding Contribution to Media.”
   AACA, which utilizes CAN TV’s Hotline program, works to ensure a diverse foundation for fair business opportunities in the construction industry workforce. CAN TV was recognized for its “outstanding work in the community, to our organization, and to the local economy” by AACA president Omar Shareef.

CAN TV has also received:

Bridge to Work Award
from Abraham Lincoln Centre

Progress Through Partnership Award
from Anixter Center

Helen Cody Baker Award of Excellence
from Social Service Communicators

The Community Communications Award for Public Access
from the Alliance for Community Media

Sidney R. Yates Arts Advocacy Award from
the Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation

The Brad Wojcoski Memorial Award
from Cable Positive

The Bernadine C. Washington Media Award
from the Chicago Commission on Human Relations

Certificate of Excellence for its commitment to Chicago’s ethnic communities from Illinois Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas

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