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00:00We're thrilled to be here tonight celebrating Variety's first ever Faith and Media Impact Report.
00:05It's an honor to be among such talented and trailblazing individuals that are being recognized for their diverse and rich depictions of faith.
00:15As leaders in the entertainment industry, I'm confident that this room understands the power of storytelling.
00:21The stories we tell shape how people think and feel and act.
00:28At Deseret Management Corporation, where I oversee a small portfolio of media companies that are trying hard to lift people and improve societies,
00:36we've taken note about how faith and people of faith are regularly misrepresented and stereotyped.
00:43It's easy to simply reduce people of faith to victims or villains in service of a storyline,
00:50when the reality is that the lives of people of faith are much more rich, complex, and beautiful than that.
00:57To try and help, we created the Coalition for Faith and Media, a global network of creative and hardworking people
01:05who are committed to creating more accurate, diverse portrayals of faith in media.
01:12We are focused on research, awareness, and understanding, as well as resources that can help storytellers look past simplified stereotypes
01:19and move toward more rich and authentic storytelling in both entertainment and journalism.
01:25It's more for us than simply a faith genre story.
01:30It's a story about how people of faith are depicted in everyday circumstances.
01:34We're grateful to have some of our members here tonight.
01:38In a world where 80% of the world's population identify as religious, spiritual, or a person of faith,
01:44and where nearly two-thirds of them feel consistently misrepresented,
01:50we believe that there's a tremendous opportunity to expand our narratives and connect with global audiences in a more meaningful way.
01:57The Coalition is going to tackle these issues on various fronts, but tonight, we're here to celebrate those creating the change.
02:04And we are grateful for that opportunity.
02:06We're grateful that you would be here with us tonight, congratulating all of those that we're recognizing,
02:11and we hope we all enjoy the evening. Thank you very much.