The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

NCADD News Release

For More Information, Contact: Jeffrey Hon, Director for Public Information

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release:

"NYPD Blue" and Reed Hundt to Receive NCADD Achievement Awards

The creators and cast of "NYPD Blue," the critically acclaimed television series, and Reed Hundt, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, are among those individuals whom the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) will honor with achievement awards this year for their contributions to the field of alcoholism and other drug addictions. The awards will be presented in Detroit on October 17 during NCADD's annual Conference of Affiliates. The creators and cast of "NYPD Blue"--including producer Steven Bochco, writer David Milch and actors Dennis Franz and Kim Delaney--will receive the Humanitarian Award for their sensitive and realistic depiction of alcoholism. Two of the program's major characters are alcoholic and the skill with which Detectives Sipowicz and Russell are written and portrayed has stirred the sympathies of millions of television viewers who root for their recovery on a weekly basis. Reed Hundt will receive the Gold Key Award in recognition of his efforts as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the impact alcoholic beverage advertising has on children. Though his proposal to launch a formal investigation was thwarted by other FCC Commissioners, Hundt remains the Clinton Administration's most outspoken critic of using the nation's airwaves to market an adult product with millions of children in the audience. When distillers began to use radio and television for the first time to advertise their product, the broadcast networks refused to accept the ads at the urging of Hundt. Robert M. Morse, MD, a member of NCADD's Board of Directors since 1990, will receive the Silver Key Award. As Director of the Addictive Disease Service at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Morse has provided the NCADD Medical/Scientific Committee, which he chairs, with a solid clinical base. The Marty Mann Founder's Award will be presented jointly to the Honorable Harold Hood and Lottie Jones-Hood, EdD for their dedication to NCADD's mission. Judge Hood, a justice on the Michigan Court of Appeals, served on the NCADD Board from 1981 to 1993 and as its Chair in 1992. Lottie Jones-Hood worked at NCADD's Detroit Affiliate for 18 years and during her tenure as Executive Director began franchising BABES (Beginning Alcohol and Addictions Basic Education Studies), the most popular prevention program ever developed by an NCADD Affiliate. The William & Martha Ford Fund will receive the R. Brinkley Smithers Award for its unremitting financial support of NCADD and its programs since 1984. William Clay Ford, president of the Foundation and grandson of Henry Ford, served on the NCADD Board of Directors from 1975 to 1977. 9/5/97

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)