Gracie Awards Honor 'Breakthrough' Director Angela Bassett, 'The Herd' Co-host Kristine Leahy for Outstanding Achievements by Women in Media
21st Century Fox Social Impact
On March 21, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation announced the honorees for the 41st annual Gracie Awards, a ceremony celebrating outstanding work by women in the media industry. The event will recognize Angela Bassett for directing the "Water Apocalypse" episode of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's "Breakthrough" documentary series on 21st Century Fox's National Geographic Channel, as well Kristine Leahy, co-host of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" on FOX Sports 1. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 24, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in California.
"The AWMF, through the Gracie Awards, is honored to recognize the collective, powerful voices of women from across the media landscape," said Kristen Welch, Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Chair, and SVP, Global Content Operations at Discovery. "Their influence and inspiration on and off the camera, encourages our future generations to build on the foundation and opportunities created by the great women before them."
"Breakthrough" premiered on the National Geographic Channel in November. The series, which brought to life the most exciting stories from the cutting edge of science, featured six documentary films each directed by a different Hollywood star, including Paul Giamatti, Brett Ratner, and Ron Howard. Bassett directed "Water Apocalypse," the series' final episode, which explores the various ways the world is confronting the increasing problem of droughts and water scarcity.
"One of the things I've learned is that there is no one solution to the water problem," Bassett said. "There are many, and a dialogue about each is important to have... There are great minds and big hearts who are coming up with ideas and solutions to this increasing problem of lack of water. I see breakthroughs happening all over the world."
Kristine Leahy joined FOX Sports in September 2015 as a contributor on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," the three-hour sports talk program airing simultaneously on FS1 and the FOX Sports Radio Network. Prior to joining "The Herd," she was the lead sports anchor at the Fox station in Boston and worked for the Boston Celtics as the team reporter.
Formed in 1951, the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation uses the media to create positive change, supporting educational programs, charitable activities, public service campaigns, and scholarships that benefit students of the media and allied fields.
