NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Television journalist Barbara Walters
was honored by the gay media watchdog group GLAAD on Monday for
her reporting on transgender children and she said the award
was among the most important she had even received.
"You can forget all the Emmys," Walters said in accepting
the award for television newsmagazine journalism at the 19th
annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media
Awards. "This means more to me."
The veteran television personality won for the story "My
Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children," which aired on
ABC's "20/20" and examined the lives and struggles of young
children who experienced conflicted gender identity, feeling
their true sex was the opposite of their physical one.
The award for outstanding film in limited release went to
the Hebrew- and Arabic-language film "The Bubble," distributed
by Strand Releasing, about a love affair between and Israeli
soldier and a Palestinian man. First Run Features' "For the
Bible Tells Me So" was named outstanding documentary.
Honorary awards went to Judy Shepard, the mother of slain
gay college student Matthew Shepard, who became an activist for
gay and lesbian rights after her son's brutal murder a decade
ago, and to MTV executive Brian Graden, who won the Vito Russo
Award, named for the late gay activist and film historian.
BET J, an offshoot of Black Entertainment Television, was
also honored, while "60 Minutes" shared the TV newsmagazine
award with Walters for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," about the U.S.
military's policy on gay and lesbian service members.
The awards were hosted by British talk show host Graham
Norton, with guest presenters including Mariska Hargitay, Kevin
Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson
award-winning actor Alan Cumming.
Other honorees for coverage of gay and lesbian issues
included The New York Times, magazine GQ, CNN and the TV
show "Boston Legal."
GLAAD was founded more than 20 years ago to foster positive
images of the lives of gay people in the wake of sensational
media reporting on AIDS and other topics. Awards will also be
presented in south Florida in Los Angeles.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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