International Emmys to Honor Al Gore

[DesertRat]

NEW YORK (AP) — Al Gore will be able to add another award to a collection that already includes an Oscar, an Emmy and the Nobel Peace Prize when Robert De Niro presents the former vice president with a special honor Monday night at the 35th annual International Emmy Awards.

Gore will receive the International Emmy Founders Award not only in recognition of his role in raising the alarm about global warming, but also for his efforts in launching the interactive Current TV, said Bruce Paisner, president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

"One of the main criteria of that award is someone who does something to promote our common humanity ... and in terms of the cause he took up with climate change, he really has done that," Paisner said in a telephone interview.

The award also honors Gore's work as co-chairman and co-founder of Current TV. "He looks at Current as being the first major vehicle at the intersection of television and the Internet, and that's a very important thing in terms of our industry," Paisner said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6GfTDwbdANGs1nt5B6bk6rxNcKAD8T0BB1O0