CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Receive Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award at 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Receive Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award at 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference

NEW YORK, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) today announced that Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN, will receive the 2009 Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award. Presented in conjunction with the Annual NAMIC Conference, the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award was established in 1992 in memory of the late Congressman from Texas for his lifelong advocacy of social justice and equality for people around the world. The 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference will be held October 26-28, 2009, at the Grand Hyatt in Denver, Colorado as part of Cable Connection-Fall. The award will be presented to Dr. Gupta at a special luncheon scheduled for Wednesday, October 28.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO)

Since the inception of the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award, NAMIC has continued its tradition of honoring individuals and organizations affiliated with the communications industry that demonstrate a commitment to advancing the concerns of people of color. In addition to serving as a correspondent for the health and medical unit at CNN, Dr. Gupta is an author and a practicing neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Through his career as a medical professional and journalist, Dr. Gupta has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to advancing global equality in health and human services.

"Dr. Gupta has provided health and wellness knowledge for millions of people globally throughout his career," said Kathy Johnson, president, NAMIC. "We are pleased to honor Congressman Leland's legacy by paying homage to such a worthy award recipient."

Since joining CNN in the summer of 2001, Dr. Gupta's illustrious career has been marked by many high points and accolades such as working as part of CNN's team covering the September 11 attacks in New York City and leading breaking news reporting on the anthrax attacks later that year. In 2003, Dr. Gupta reported from Iraq as an embedded correspondent with the U.S. Navy's medical unit. Dr. Gupta provided CNN's viewers with exclusive reports as the unit traveled to Baghdad. In addition to providing live coverage from a desert operating room of the first operation performed during the war, Dr. Gupta also performed brain surgery five times himself. Dr. Gupta's coverage of the disaster and aftermath of the tsunami in South Asia contributed to the awarding of an Alfred I. duPont Award to CNN in 2004. An Emmy award-winner, Gupta's passion for inspiring Americans and people around the world to lead healthier, more active lives is exemplified through his robust reporting for many health programs such as 'Vital Signs," which airs globally via CNN International and "Paging Dr. Gupta," a weekly CNN segment and podcast.

In 2008, Dr. Gupta's extensive coverage of the presidential campaign included the documentaries "First Patient" and "Fit to Lead." Both productions focused on the toll that the nation's highest office takes on the health of the commander-in-chief and the health of the presidential candidates. Other documentaries have included "Quake Zone," "Killer Flu," "Sleep," "Blood Spilled" and "Rescuing Youssif," which, respectively, addressed concerns about surviving the Pakistani earthquake, avian flu, the dangers of a lack of sleep, the challenges faced by wounded Iraqi veterans and the emotional and physical journey of the recovery of a young Iraqi boy.

Dr. Gupta's first book, Chasing Life, was released in the spring of 2007, became a New York Times bestseller and was also the subject of a one-hour documentary of the same name on CNN. His second book, Cheating Death, explores the boundaries of the states of "life" and "death" among survivors of extraordinary medical miracles, is expected in October 2009. A documentary of the same topics and title will debut in December.

Past recipients of NAMIC's Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award include: award-winning journalist and author, Charlayne Hunter-Gault; Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television; Governor Bill Richardson, former ambassador, United Nations; award-winning journalists and CNN anchors, Anderson Cooper and Soledad O'Brien; Kweisi Mfume, former president, NAACP and Christina Saralegui, host of the Galavision/Univision "Christina Show" among others.

For more information on the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference or for inquiries pertaining to sponsorship, contact Sandra Girado, manager of Meetings and Events at the NAMIC national headquarters, 212-594-5985. Online registration for the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference can be accessed by visiting www.namic.com.

About NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC comprises 2,000 professionals belonging to a network of 18 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. For more information, please visit www.namic.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060705/NYW092LOGO
Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
NAMIC, +1-212-594-5985 (office) , daphne.leroy@namic.com; or Charmaine Chapman
of BTB Communications, +1-310-882-5498 (office), char@btbcommunications.com

Web Site: http://www.namic.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photo of Dr. Gupta and a complete biography available upon request.

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