Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n
Making a difference.<\/strong> With NBC’s A.D. The Bible Continues<\/em> off to a solid start in the ratings<\/a>, few would dispute that Mark Burnett and Roma Downey<\/a> are at the head of the list of media innovators who, in various ways, are helping bring faith-fueled content and messages to the world. But there are others who deserve recognition who you may not have heard of. Here are eight of them:<\/p>\n 1. Charley Humbard (President and CEO, UP TV<\/a>) –<\/strong> The son of famed televangelist Rex Humbard founded the Gospel Music Channel in 2004 and rebranded it as UP TV in 2013. The savvy executive is steadily building a slate of programming that reflect and promote the values of his Christian faith while being accessible to a broad audience as, per the network’s slogan, Uplifting Entertainment<\/em>.\u00a0 While the network carries its share of classic shows (i.e. Dr. Quinn, Growing Pains, Touched by an Angel<\/em>) it has quickly become a major provider of original content, including weekly TV movies, reality shows (Bringing Up Bates<\/a>, The Holderness Family<\/a><\/em>) and scripted fare. The family drama Heartland<\/em><\/a> (a Canadian import) premieres its eighth season tonight (4\/8) and Ties That Bind<\/em>, a scripted drama produced especially for UP, is planned for this summer.<\/p>\n Below is a network promo for The Music in Me<\/em> an uplifting (there’s that word again) musical drama about a small town girl who had given up her dreams of musically performing only to rediscover her joy of singing\/songwriting as an adult through her work with a failing church choir.\u00a0 The film, which stars singer\/songwriter <\/span>Debbie Gibson <\/span><\/span>and E.R<\/em>.’s Gloria Reuben (E.R.\u201d), will premiere this Sunday (4\/12) at 8:00 PM (ET). I’ll be posting a review later this week. <\/span><\/p>\n