Animal Award Nominees Announced

The Disney film "Bolt" and the tear-jerker "Marley and Me," along with television dramas "Bones," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," were among the nominees announced Wednesday for the Humane Society's awards honoring news and entertainment media that showcase animal issues.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Martha Stewart Living" each earned three nominations for the Genesis Awards, which will be presented March 28 at the Beverly Hilton.

ABC7's Eyewitness News was nominated for a local feature on puppy mills, while the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, Riverside Press-Enterprise and USA Today were all nominated for series of articles on animal issues.

The nightly news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC were all nominated for best national news feature on the issue. ABC's "Nightline" and "20/20" were both nominated in the television national newsmagazine category.

"Animal protection is a subject that is finding its way into all media genres and platforms because it's an issue of genuine interest and concern to audiences everywhere," said Beverly Kaskey, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States' Hollywood office and executive producer of the 23rd annual Genesis Awards. "This year's Genesis nominees prove that whether you're a fan of animated comedies like Fox's 'Family Guy' or 'The Simpsons,' or unscripted series like FX's '30 Days' or Animal Planet's 'Whale Wars,' there's a compelling and entertaining story to be told."

Ellen DeGeneres and her spouse, Portia de Rossi, will be presented with The Wyler Award -- named for Genesis Awards founder and former Broadway headliner Gretchen Wyler -- to recognize their work on behalf of animals. Previous winners of the award include Sir Paul McCartney and Hayden Panettiere.

Here is a complete list of nominees:

FEATURE FILM

"Bolt," Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
"Marley and Me," 20th Century Fox
"Red," Magnolia Pictures
"Saving Luna," Mountainside Films

SID CAESAR COMEDY AWARD

"Family Guy," McStroke, Fox
"The Simpsons," Apocalypse Cow, Fox

DRAMATIC SERIES

"Bones," "The Finger in the Nest," Fox
"Grey's Anatomy," "Life During Wartime," ABC
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Wildlife," NBC

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING

"Handy Manny," "Manny's Mouse Traps," Disney Channel
"Spongebob Squarepants," "Grooming Gary," Nickelodeon

TV NEWSMAGAZINE - NATIONAL

"20/20," Elephant PTSD, ABC
"Nightline," multiple segments, ABC

TV NEWSMAGAZINE - CABLE

"Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell," multiple segments, CNN
"Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," "Hidden Horses," HBO

NATIONAL NEWS FEATURE

"CBS Evening News with Katie Couric," multiple segments
"NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," multiple segments
"(ABC) World News with Charles Gibson," multiple segments

LOCAL NEWS SERIES

KGO-TV (Bay Area), I-Team Investigation: Battery Cages
KLAS-TV (Las Vegas), Elephant Abuse: Life on the Road
WAGA-TV Fox 5 (Atlanta), Fulton County Animal Shelter
WKYC-TV (Cleveland), Sugarcreek Horse Slaughter

LOCAL NEWS FEATURE

KABC7 (Los Angeles) Eyewitness News at 11, puppy mills
KHOU-TV (Houston), Slaughtergate
WOIO-TV, 19 Action News (Cleveland), Massillon's Mysterious Missing Tiger Cubs

TV DOCUMENTARY

"Blinders," Documentary Channel
"Companions to None," PBS
"National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth," PBS
"Planet in Peril: Battle Lines," CNN

UNSCRIPTED TELEVISION SERIES

"30 Days," Animal Rights, FX
"Dogtown," Saving the Michael Vick Dogs, National Geographic Channel
"Escape to Chimp Eden," Animal Planet
"Whale Wars," Needle in a Haystack, Animal Planet

TALK SHOW

"The Ellen DeGeneres Show," multiple shows, syndicated
"Martha Stewart Living," South African chimp sanctuary, syndicated
"The Oprah Winfrey Show," multiple shows, ABC

BRIGITTE BARDOT INTERNATIONAL

"50/50," Illegal Rhino Horn Trade (SABC 2 - South African Public Broadcaster)
"60 Minutes," Lost Hope (Nine Network Australia)
"The Mong Lah Connection" (Sweden/Worldwide)
"Today Tonight," Taiji's Bitter Harvest (Channel 7, Perth, Australia)

SERIES OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Associated Press, multiple articles by Frederick J. Frommer
Los Angeles Times, multiple articles by Carla Hall
Riverside Press-Enterprise, multiple articles by Janet Zimmerman and Ben Goad
USA Today, multiple articles by Sharon L. Peters

COLUMNIST

Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Daily News, Fight Puppy Mill Horrors
Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times, A Farm Boy Reflects, Obama's 'Secretary of Food'?
William C. Rhoden, The New York Times, Race's Aftermath Shows Brutal Side of Sport, Filly's Death Brings Issues to Fore

NEWSMAGAZINE

The New York Times Magazine, "The Barnyard Strategist" by Maggie Jones
Newsweek, "Extinction Trade" by Sharon Begley
Time, "Eden For Peaceful Apes" by Alex Perry and "Free Dumbo! Zoos Are Bad for Elephants" by Jeffrey Kluger

MAGAZINE

Men's Journal, "Crackdown on The Dog Torturers" by Mary A. Fischer
People, "Horse Haven" by Steve Helling, "The Puppy Saver" by Diane Herbst, "A Happy Ending for Vick's Dogs" and "The Dog Rescuer" by Champ Clark and "A Roaring Battle Over Sea Lions" by Bill Hewitt
Southwest Airlines Spirit, "Back to Nurture" by Mike Darling
Sports Illustrated, "The Good News Out of The Bad Newz Kennels" by Jim Gorant

BRIGITTE BARDOT INTERNATIONAL PRINT