HSUS Announces Genesis Awards Winners and Pays Tribute to Sid Caesar

Honoring the news and entertainment media for their outstanding reporting and creative portrayals of animal-protection issues, The HSUS recognizes the best in media coverage for animals in 2013. The Humane Society of the United States pays special homage to the late Sid Caesar, in whose name the Genesis Awards Comedy category is dedicated. We extend our sincere gratitude for his years of kindness and compassion to animals and have been privileged to count him among our most dedicated supporters.

The 2014 Winners

From talking, time-traveling turkeys to orcas trapped in concrete prisons, animals were the protagonists in many stories last year-both fictional and all too real. Film, television, print, and the internet were all home to explorations of important animal-welfare issues. The best were able to see the intrinsic connection between the well-being of people and the well-being of animals.

FILM

FEATURE FILM

Free Birds-Relativity Media

DOCUMENTARY FILM

Blackfish-Magnolia Pictures/CNN Films

TELEVISION

THE SID CAESAR COMEDY AWARD

American Dad: "Buck, Wild"-Fox

The Colbert Report: "Steve King on Chicken Cages"-Comedy Central

The Colbert Report: "The Word: Philanthropy" (Safari Club International auctions off endangered rhino hunt for "charity")-Comedy Central

The Daily Show: "Blowing the Whistle on Whistleblowers" (Ag-gag bills)-Comedy Central

Saturday Night Live: "Veganville" (Justin Timberlake makes a great case for veganism)-NBC

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING

Bubble Guppies: "Puppy Love" (Teaching pre-schoolers about pet care) -Nick Jr.

TV DOCUMENTARY

An Apology to Elephants-HBO

Battle for the Elephants-PBS

Nature: "Parrot Confidential"-PBS

NATIONAL NEWS

"Turn Off That Camera! Animal Cruelty Exposés Being Blocked"-ABC
Producer/correspondent: Cindy Galli and Brian Ross

"Smugglers drive Thailand's grim trade in dog meat"-CNN
Reporter: Anna Coren

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: "Making a Difference" (A photographer provides a second chance for senior shelter dogs.)-NBC
Reporter: Jill Rappaport

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: "Making a Difference" (A severely abused puppy becomes savior for autistic child)-NBC
Reporter: Jill Rappaport

Primer Impacto: "Butterball: Making History Against Abuse"-Univision News Network
Reporter: Xiomara Gonzalez Govea

Primer Impacto: "Puppy Mills: The Horror Story"-Univision News Network
Reporter: Xiomara Gonzalez Govea

NEWS MAGAZINE

Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell: "'Puppy Doe' beaten and left for dead" (Also gestation crates and the King Amendment)-HLN

Nightline: "Nightline Investigates: Going Undercover" (Ag-gag bills)-ABC

Nightline: "The Exotic Pet Insurance Business"-ABC

MORNING SHOW

TODAY: Rossen Reports-"AKC-registered breeders raising dogs in 'miserable' conditions"-NBC
Reporter: Jeff Rossen

TODAY: "Horses Are Wild-but Not Free" (Wild horses are being rounded up and penned in BLM facilities)
Reporter: Lisa Myers, Producer: Michael Austin

TALK SHOW

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Discussion of Ag-gag bills)-Syndicated

REALITY SERIES

America Declassified: "Missing Mustangs" (Are mustangs being slaughtered illegally? )-Travel Channel

Inside: Secret America-"Animal Undercover"(Cruelty to animals in food and research facilities)-National Geographic Channel

LOCAL NEWS

KGO-TV San Francisco, Calif.: "Bay Area restaurants still selling banned foie gras"-ABC
Reporter: Dan Noyes

KHOU 11 News-Houston: "Houston man sets out to dispel pit bull myths" Reporter: Brad Woodard

KTNV ABC 13 Action News: "Deadly force against dogs: Are police officers going too far using deadly force against dogs?"-ABC
Reporter: Darcy Spears

KTNV ABC 13 Action News: "Deadly force against dogs: When police kill pets"-ABC
Reporter: Darcy Spears

KTNV ABC 13 Action News: "Action News viewers sound off on police killing pets"-ABC
Reporter: Darcy Spears

PRINT

MAGAZINE

The Hollywood Reporter: "Animals Were Harmed" Reporter: Gary Baum

NEWSPAPER FEATURE

Kansas City Star: "Animal abuse persists at some meat plants" By Mike McGraw

ONLINE FEATURE

Rolling Stone: "In the Belly of the Beast" By Paul Solotaroff

COLUMNIST

The New York Times: "Can we See Our Hypocrisy to Animals?" by Nicholas D. Kristof

The Washington Post: "Steve King's inhumane farm bill measure" by Kathleen Parker

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

The HSUS also gives special acknowledgment to the following newspapers, who ran editorials condemning the King Amendment and thus were key to its defeat:

Bakersfield Californian, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Contra Costa Times, Des Moines Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Jose Mercury News, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Tulsa World, USA Today, Ventura County Star, and Washington Post