Nanci Ryder, founding partner of B|W|R Public Relations, will receive the President’s Award at the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) 54th Annual Publicists Awards Luncheon to be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 24, 2017.
In announcing the award, the Guild’s national president Steven Poster, ASC said, “Nanci is my definition of a hero. In the midst of a remarkable career representing some of Hollywood’s top stars, she learns that she has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. But instead of feeling sorry for herself she has led efforts and raised money to help others suffering from this debilitating sickness.”
For more than three decades Ryder earned a reputation as one of the entertainment industry’s most influential publicists, with an ability to recognize and cultivate emerging talent. Ryder provided public relations counsel for such clients as Renée Zellweger, Michael J. Fox, Reese Witherspoon and Leonardo DiCaprio, and during the formative years of such rising stars as Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker and scores of other top Hollywood talent. She mentored many of the mainstays in talent public relations, some of whom have since established impressive practices of their own. At the time of B|W|R’s sale to WPP in October 1999, she had helped build B|W|R into one of the largest, independently owned entertainment public relations firms.
Apart from her professional leadership, Ryder became an outspoken advocate of breast cancer support following her own diagnosis in 2000, serving as a tireless campaigner for fundraising and research. She beat cancer in a year, but would apply the same fierce determination to another life-threatening disease when she was diagnosed with bulbar onset ALS in 2014. She has thus lost the ability to talk and walk, but her fight for a cure remains unchanged. Since 2014, Ryder has led “Team Nanci,” comprised of industry peers, friends and colleagues, raising more than $433,000 for the ALS Association and its Golden West Chapter. The organization honored her efforts in 2016 by presenting her with a Heroes Award, one of many distinctions she has received throughout her career for her charitable efforts.
Canada orders TikTok’s Canadian business to be dissolved but won’t block app
Canada announced Wednesday it won't block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
"The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said.
Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.
He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. He said the decision was based on information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs.
"We will challenge this order in court," the spokesperson said. "The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive."
TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny... Read More