Networks Team Up for Cancer Benefit

Zap2It.com | May 28, 2008

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Katie Couric
Katie Couric
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ABC, CBS, NBC news anchors host September telethon

The Big Three network news anchors will set their competition aside for a night in September to host a prime-time special that will raise money for cancer research.

ABC, CBS and NBC will simulcast the hour-long, commercial-free special on Friday, Sept. 5, with their respective news anchors -- Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams -- serving as masters of ceremonies. The show is a benefit for Stand Up to Cancer, a newly created initiative whose goal is to raise money for cutting-edge research and offer an online community for patients and others affected by the disease.

The three anchors made the rounds of the network morning shows Wednesday to tout the prime-time special.

"We want everyone to know that they can make a difference in this fight," Couric says in the release announcing the effort. "Television is a notoriously competitive business. For the three major broadcast networks to join forces is a wonderful example of the power of working together, and we're very grateful to have the opportunity to reach people all over the country through this show."

The as-yet unnamed special will feature musical performances and live and filmed pieces designed to give viewers insight into the disease and how they can be tested. Gibson, Couric and Williams will also present reports on new research in the field.

Producer Laura Ziskin (the "Spider-Man" franchise, "As Good As It Gets"), a cancer survivor and member of the Stand Up leadership team, will produce the program. Stand Up to Cancer is a project of the Entertainment Industry Foundation; the American Association for Cancer Research will review research proposals and administer money raised through the initiative.

More information is at Standup2cancer.org.
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