NTA Cleveland Chapter News - February 2003

NTA NEWS is distributed via email. Hard copy editions are no longer available.

Deadline Approaching for News & Documentary Entries

Entry materials for the 24th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards will be available Friday, February 7th from the National Television Academy website at www.emmyonline.org. The final postmarked deadline for submissions is Friday, April 4, 2003.

For additional information, please contact David Winn, Administrator of the News & Documentary Awards or Bill Small, Vice Chairman at (212) 586-8424.

NTA Demands Arbitration on Latin Emmy

The New York-based National Television Academy has announced it will establish a Latin Emmy Awards competition for Spanish-language programming. New York NTA has filed a demand for arbitration, to force the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to stop "impeding" the process.

"The time has come for major national and international recognition of distinction in Hispanic television -- and there is no better platform than the distinguished Emmy Award," NTA President Peter Price said in announcing the decision to appeal to the American Arbitration Association in New York. Price says establishing the Latin Emmys is a way for NTA to embrace Hispanic television and to create new and innovative ways to build for the future.

NTA had hoped to form a partnership with ATAS to jointly launch the Latin Emmys. Under current rules, NTA is required to get the OK of ATAS to create any new Emmycast. NTA claims it has been unable to get ATAS on board for Latin Emmys despite having "tried repeatedly over the last several months to secure ATAS's participation. NTA accuses ATAS of refusing to commit to the project by using stalling tactics to obstruct the National Television Academy’s efforts to move forward with plans to stage this year’s Latin Emmys.

ATAS disputes the claim, saying NTA has been busy hiring lawyers and plotting arbitrations, while ATAS officials have been actively soliciting the input of both the Hispanic community and Spanish-language broadcasters. ATAS President Todd Leavitt says, while NTA is putting out a “self-serving” press release, ATAS leaders are meeting with members of the Hispanic congressional caucus to hear their thoughts. Leavitt adds the Hispanic community is divided on this issue and interested in more dialogue before moving ahead.

Bilingual Journalists Needed to Help Judge Entries

The National Television Academy has voted to judge all Spanish-language entries in the Emmy Awards with Spanish-speaking television professionals. If you work in television, speak Spanish and would be interested in judging Spanish-language Emmy Award entries, please contact the Cleveland NTA office immediately at (330) 273-5756 or email news@natascleveland.org.

We’re looking for Spanish-speaking professionals at television stations, production companies, post-production companies and colleges/universities who teach television.

The Hispanic population continues to grow with some 36 million in the United States. Twelve of the NTA chapters reach over 28 million Spanish-speaking viewers.

Changes in Student Awards Program

The new entry deadline for high school students submitting material for the Student Award of Excellence program is now April 3rd. The original deadline was March 3rd.

The program is open to any student who is currently enrolled in high school, and is sponsored by the school where the work was produced. All entries must have been originally broadcast, cablecast or webcast within the National Awards Year from August 1, 2002 to February 28, 2003.

Local winners will be recognized at the Cleveland NTA ceremony, June 7th at Windows on the River in the Flats. They also will receive a free trip to Washington, DC, later in June for the National Recognition Luncheon, held in conjunction with the Trustees meeting.

The National office will handle judging. You may be asked to assist with finding judges, but it will not mean organizing large panels for marathon sessions.

News Leader Av Westin Brings News Concerns to the Forefront

from the January 15th Newsletter of the Southwest, Rocky Mountain Chapter, NTA

Rocky Mountain Southwest chapter members and local college broadcast students joined with area newspaper journalists for an evening with Av Westin, former executive producer of 20-20 and ABC Evening News, at KNXV-TV studios in Phoenix.

The event was sponsored by NATAS in conjunction with Society of Professional Journalists and Arizona State University, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Past ABC anchor, Hugh Downs welcomed the guests and introduced his former boss to attendees.

Westin, who recently authored "Best Practices for Television Journalists," for the Freedom Forum, shared his views of journalistics practices and discussed the state of television today. He was quick to point out that, "This business of television news has become the business of news. There is more focus and concern by current management over ratings and the bottomline, than the news. We've been corrupted, replacing our concern for good journalism with concern for dollars. News judgment in news rooms today is being colored by ratings."

Story selections, he added, have gone from "traditional news" to "sensational news". "We are seeing reductions in the sizes of staff, beat reporters being replaced by general assignment reporters and the quality of news is being diminished," Westin related.

He expresses concern, that today's TV station owners have forgotten why they were originally granted licenses. "Early licenses were given to owners, in exchange for giving local news back to the public. Today, station after station is being acquired by groups with headquarters away from the local market. They are not looking at how to serve the community, rather measure success for producers and news directors based on ratings and the bottom-line. "

Westin related that stations frequently go on the air with less than all the news. "Reporters should have the opportunity to get at least two sources for their stories, but there isn't the time for it. " He related that are three criteria that should be part of every broadcast: fairness, accuracy and balance. " It is the responsibilty of a journalist, to deliver material clearly and fairly , providing something of value, that can be understood.We must make sure there is accuracy and take steps to assure it, as well as balance our stories. There is a problem with invasion of privacy today. Journalists are now being regarded as the bad guys. "

He says that the evening news is no longer the flagship show. "We are educating the public to accept a lower standard," Westin noted. He talked about the current fad with reality tv, referring to it as "the latest gimmick" in tv today and forecasted that he anticipates an emergence of niche programming in the future on network television, just as it is being done on cable and on the net.

Mr. Westin offered tremendous insight and information for the audience. He fielded questions for nearly an hour and autographed complimentary copies of his book for all in attendance.

Spotlight On NATAS Board Members Bob Hammer, President

Bob Hammer is the President of Cleveland NTA. Elected in 2001 for a two-year term, Hammer has been a dedicated member of NTA since 1977. He produced his first Emmy Awards program the following year. Building on that success, he was asked to produce the Emmy Awards several times in the 80's and 90's.

Hammer began honing his television craft in 1969 in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. He started as a studio lighting director, stage manager and cameraman at KAKE-TV. At 20 years old, he was promoted to producer/director of the 6:00 and 10:00 newscasts. Since Wichita did not have major league sports, Hammer developed the televising of little league baseball games, that were shot on the back lot of the studio.

His career spans more than 30 years, holding producer and directorial positions at WTOL-TV, Toledo, and WBBH-TV, Fort Myers, FL and WUAB-TV, Cleveland. Hammer's creative style is evident in the award-winning work he's produced for many companies. In 1993, he founded Hammer Production Company to handle the countless requests for his expertise.

Hammer believes there cannot be success without civic responsibility. He exemplifies that in his dedication to many of the mayor's committees in Berea, OH. He's chairman of the board of the Discover Berea Chamber of Commerce.

Bob and his wife, Sandy, reside in Columbia Station. They have three grown children.

From the Editor: Cynthia Barnes Saturday, January 11th was a day of anticipation and excitement at the association office in Brunswick. NTA members and volunteers rolled up their sleeves and went to work on your Emmy entries. Box after box was unpacked. Stories were placed in their respective categories and entered into the computer. This year, we received 515 entries. That's up 17 from last year.

Governor Mark Rosenberger, Governor & Emmy Chair Steve Goldurs, and Governor Steve Kurrent open Emmy entries in the NATAS Emmy room.

President Bob Hammer in the NATAS office checking entries and supervising computer entry.

As we await the next two months, let us not forget the current state of our nation and the strong possibility of war. Please keep in mind your colleagues who have been called to serve. Let their families know the appreciation you have for their unselfishness.

Regards,

Cynthia Barnes, Editor

Send news articles and comments to news@natascleveland.org.