ABC Family Shares SAG-AFTRA American Scene Award

SAG-AFTRA has named the recipients of the first combined union's American Scene Awards.

They are Disney's ABC Family cable channel and Brenda Hampton, which are the recipients of the actor/performer award for Hampton's The Secret Life of the American Teenager; Detroit Public Television, which is being given the Belva Davis Broadcaster award for Arab American Stories; and Universal Music Group, which will receive the recording artist award for its entire roster or artists.

"It was a pleasure to work for Disney and ABC Family, both have a strong commitment to diversity in casting, and both encourage stories that inspire children and young adults to be accepting of differences in each other," said Hampton in a statement.

AFTRA launched the awards in 1985 to recognize union productions that employ diverse ethnicities, people with disabilities, seniors, women and members of the LGBT community to "realistically portray the American Scene."

The awards will be given out Sept. 27 during SAG-AFTRA's inaugural convention as a merged union. Mary Hart is hosting the event.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.