By Jonathan Landrum Jr., Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Norman Lear made his mark as a television producer who strived to explore race relation issues through his famed sitcoms "All in the Family" and "Good Times." And now, the Golden Globes will honor Lear with its TV special achievement trophy.
Lear will receive the Carol Burnett Award during the 78th annual ceremony on Feb. 28, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Thursday. He is a writer, director and producer who champions television diversity with other classic hit sitcoms such as "The Jeffersons" and "Sanford and Son."
HFPA President Ali Sar said in a statement that Lear is among the "most prolific creators of this generation." He also said Lear's work "revolutionized the industry."
"His career has encompassed both the Golden Age and Streaming Era, throughout which his progressive approach addressing controversial topics through humor prompted a cultural shift that allowed social and political issues to be reflected in television," Sar said of Lear.
The Carol Burnett Award is given annually to honor someone "who has made outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen." It's the small-screen version of the group's film counterpart, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which will be handed to Jane Fonda during the awards ceremony.
Past recipients of the Burnett award include Ellen DeGeneres and Burnett.
Nominations for the upcoming Golden Globes are scheduled to be announced Feb. 3.
Lear, 98, is a six-time Emmy winner whose shows confronted war, sexuality, abortion, and poverty with topical humor. His other popular series include "Maude," "One Day at a Time" and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."
Lear, a World War II veteran, has collected several accolades in his career. He received the Peabody Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2016, awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1999 and inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984. He was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2017.
As a social activist, Lear founded advocacy organization People for the American Way. He also founded several other non-profits to promote thoughtful citizenship, including the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication.
In the early 2000s, Lear purchased an original copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. He then founded the Declaration of Independence Road Trip to the share the document with people across all 50 states.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More