The PRISM Awards recognize accurate depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse and addiction in feature films, television, music, comics and other entertainment media.

The awards are given annually by the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The goal is to encourage accurate depiction of drug abuse and addiction in the entertainment media.

Key Results

• The PRISM Awards have encouraged accurate depiction of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse and addiction when compared with depictions prior to the creation of the awards, according to EIC baseline and longitudinal data.
• EIC has produced the PRISM Awards annually since 1997, and has continued to produce them since RWJF funding ended in 2005.
• The winners, commendations and certificates of merit in each category are available online.
• The PRISM Awards TV special appears on the FX television network in May or June of each year. FX has continued to show the awards since RWJF funding ended. See the Bibliography for details of the distribution.
• From 2000 through 2002, EIC held 75 workshops for programming executives, Standards & Practices staff at networks and students studying screenwriting in colleges and universities around the country. See the Appendix for more information.
• The PRISM Awards have been covered in the media each year, with stories in Daily Variety, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Washington Post, TV Guide; on Web sites; and on television and radio.
• The 8th Annual PRISM Awards videotape was sent to 11,000 treatment programs through a grant from the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration to expand the PRISM Awards treatment outreach.
• The PRISM Awards videotape is distributed in a special edition to addiction treatment care centers for therapeutic purposes.

See the Bibliography for a list of audiovisuals, discussion guides and other publications.

Funding

From April 1998 through June 2005, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported the PRISM Awards with six grants totaling $8,171,242. NIDA and EIC continue to support the awards.