USA Network Takes Up Tolerance Campaign
On-Air, Online Endeavor Promotes Multiculturalism
By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 1/15/2009 1:36:00 PM
USA Network, which supported a social campaign to "Erase the Hate" in the 1990s, is launching a new public affairs campaign, Characters Unite, which launches on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 19.
The new campaign is based on the premise that "life is richer when people see beyond stereotypes on race, sex and religion." The channel will host a multi-media pledge drive for tolerance and understanding.
USA will be guided in its effort by an advisory board including participants from the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, Amnesty International USA, the Asian American Justice Center and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Other advisors are the National Council of La Raza, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The on-air and on-line campaign will kick off with an aggressive call to action, network officials said. Those who sign the pledge will have a chance to see their names featured on future Characters Unite promos and on a rolling ticker online.
At charactersunite.com, viewers can share their personal stories and suggestions and utilize an interactive Facebook application.
