Two Catholic media groups merge into one - Nation - Unda-USA and Cine&Media become Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 8, 2002 by Arthur Jones

Two U.S. Catholic media organizations, Unda-USA and Cine&Media, have joined forces as the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. The new academy is simultaneously an afiliate of SIGNIS, the international, Vatican-approved organization for communication.

Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for Communicators, was formed in 1972 as a successor organization to the Catholic Broadcasters Association. Cine&Media, the U.S. affiliate of the International Catholic Organization for Cinema, was founded in 1996.

At the Oct. 17 Universal City, Calif., gathering that brought them together, the two organizations gave their annual awards. UNDA's Gabriel Award for best movie drama went to "The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Rings" (New Line Cinema); the award for family entertainment went to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (Warner Bros.). Cine&Media's Outstanding Achievement award went to Paulist Productions "for productions that entertain, inspire and promote spiritual and human values."

The day's theme, "Imagination Convergence: Hollywood and the Moral Imagination," was structured around a movie industry panel interacting with the academy member audience as both tackled the moral/ethical imagination in film and television.