News12.com Claims An Omni Intermedia Award

HICKSVILLE, NEW YORK, February 5, 2001 – Omni Intermedia has honored News12.com with a bronze medal in the 4th Annual Fall 2000 Omni Intermedia Competition. The Omni Awards were created to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding media production in a variety of fields. Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges from some of the top production companies in the world and judged on content and educational value. Entries were received from all over the United States.

News12.com, the official website of News 12 Networks, captured the award for their Island Vote 2000 Guide. The guide highlighted all elections held in both Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island. It included candidates’ profiles that featured their biographies, stance on issues, audio clips of local speeches, and “stories from the 2000 campaign trail”. News12.com contacted every single candidate running for office for their Island Vote 2000 guide to ensure they had accurate, timely, and thorough information. Also included was a map of each candidate’s district to accompany a video/audio clip from their News 12 Long Island debate. Users were also able to email the candidates directly through the website and have their questions answered.

“This is a great honor, because it highlights our mission which is to give real people the information they want and need, about what’s happening in their backyard”, said Adam Shapiro, News Director of News12.com. “We provided the kind of local news that not only informed, but empowered voters on all the races, before they went to the polls”.

News12.com is the official website for News 12 networks, the country’s first, largest, and most watched regional news channel. News 12 is a cable exclusive service, reaching more than 3.1 million households in the New York market. News12.com is available on the World Wide Web (www.news12.com). News 12 Networks is owned and operated by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.

Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation and NBC, is at the forefront of innovation in cable programming. Rainbow manages American Movie Classics, Romance Classics, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel, MuchMusic USA, Rainbow Sports, News 12 Networks and MetroChannels as well as the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow also holds a majority stake in Madison Square Garden Properties. In addition, Rainbow is a fifty-percent partner in FOX Sports Net.

Cablevision Systems Corporation is one of the nation’s leading entertainment and telecommunications companies. Its cable television operations serve more than 3.4 million households located primarily in the New York metropolitan area. The company’s advanced telecommunications offerings include its Lightpath integrated business communications services and its Optimum-branded high-speed Internet service. Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. subsidiary owns and operates programming businesses including American Movie Classics, Bravo and many other national and regional services. Cablevision also owns a controlling interest and operates Madison Square Garden and its sports teams including the Knicks, Rangers and WNBA Liberty. The company operates New York’s Radio City Music Hall as well as Clearview Cinemas in the Tri-State area. Cablevision also owns and operates The Wiz consumer electronics chain at 41 locations in the New York Metropolitan area. Additional information about Cablevision Systems Corporation is available on the Web at www.cablevision.com.

Contact:
Deborah Gosselin
(516) 393-1946