Matthew Margo of CBS Cares, Senior Vice President of Program Practices at CBS Television Network, will be a featured special guest at this year’s PRISM Awards Showcase to be held on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, October 2nd.
Among other public health initiatives developed by CBS Cares, Mr. Margo intends to present the Postpartum Depression Public Service Announcements featuring actors Kathryn Morris and Danny Pino of Cold Case, and reference the work of PSI. Other guests include Judith Light, from Ugly Betty, Katherine Fugate, Executive Producer of Army Wives and Meredith Eaton Gilden from Boston Legal.
Presented by the Entertainment Industry Council and others, this event highlights critically acclaimed work in the entertainment industry which has focused on social and mental health concerns. The showcase is open to members of Congress and the media, is bipartisan in focus, and sponsored this year by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
Thank you again to Matthew Margo and CBS Cares for the development of this pivotal media partnership which has helped lift our issue out of the social shadows and into mainstream America.
Update: May 18, 2007
CBS Cares has notified us that the postpartum PSA’s are airing on 30,000 American Airline flights throughout May on their inflight television network Eye on American. This additional and consistent exposure extends the CBS Cares/PSI message to include traveling Americans! Thank you CBS Cares.
The PSA’s developed by CBS Cares in their partnership with PSI and New York Presbyterian featuring Cold Case stars Kathryn Morris (English version) and Danny Pino (Spanish version) are the most comprehensive national public health initiative ever undertaken to bring awareness to perinatal mood disorders. These public service announcements were developed to mainstream an issue which has been marginalized for far too long. We continue to receive feedback expressing joy, relief, the sharing of personal stories and congratulations from consumers who feel their issue is finally being validated—without shame. Shame is one of the greatest barriers to treatment and has often been the shadow obscuring hope and increasing the isolation of those suffering from these devastating illnesses. Initially developed to educate and raise awareness, the postpartum PSA’s are now being resourced as powerful messages accompanying a bipartisan issue into the 110th Congress. This may be the first time public service announcements about our cause have helped develop bipartisan support for adoption of federal protections for women, families and their children. On January 4, 2007, Congressman Bobby Rush reintroduced the Melanie Stokes Act as H.R. 20. Having lingered for several years without sufficient support for passage, the timing seems right for this strong reintroduction. The office of Congressman Rush has proposed the inclusion of these public service announcements in educational briefings which may arise over the next several months. And while visiting with U.S. Senator Robert Menendez who is planning to reintroduce The MOTHERS ACT in the near future, the Senator suggested steps to widen the distribution of the Spanish PSA’s offered by CBS, unbannered, to any Hispanic network wishing to air them. Visit the CBS Cares website
(30 seconds - English)
QuickTime Movie - 4.8MB
(30 seconds - Spanish)
QuickTime Movie - 4.6MB