Toronto, Canada, Aug 6, 2008 / 11:31 am
Toronto-based Salt + Light Television has won the Television Station of the Year Gabriel Award, considered the “Emmy” of religious programming, beating out other candidates competition from the major television networks.
The Gabriel Awards have been sponsored by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals for more than forty years. The award was founded in 1965 to “recognize the outstanding artistic achievement in a television or radio program or series which entertains and enriches with a true vision of humanity and a true vision of life.”
Writing in a July 30 letter to Salt + Light Television, Academy President Frank Morock described the prestige of the Gabriel award.
“It proclaims a value-centered view of society and humanity, and it raises our consciousness,” Morock explained. He said the academy hopes the award challenges Salt + Light to continue to provide the quality programming “our world so desperately needs” to the public.
Fr. Thomas Rosica C.S.B., the CEO of Salt + Light, told CNA that his network submitted a compilation of their programming to the Award Committee for consideration in the "Network Category" rather than for individual programs or documentaries.
Reacting to news of the Gabriel award, Fr. Rosica said, "It is a great honor for us to be awarded the prestigious Gabriel Award, not for a specific program but rather for our entire network! He also thanked the Gagliano family in Canada and the Knights of Columbus for their outstanding support, generosity and vision, which “brought this network to birth five years ago on the wings of World Youth Day 2002 in Canada.”
“Much has been accomplished over the past five years, and our Salt and Light team of young adults is the greatest asset of this wonderful project of the New Evangelization. The Gabriel Award is a tribute to their dedication, commitment and key roles in Catholic Media in North America," Fr. Rosica said in praise of his team.
Entries for the Gabriel Award are judged based upon ability to “uplift and nourish the human spirit;” the honesty, depth, and clarity of the presented material; the use of imaginative and innovative approaches; an entry’s overall technical quality; and the intellectual and emotional impact of the entry upon the audience.
The Gabriel Awards will be presented on October 25 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.