NATAS Cleveland Chapter News - December 2002

NATAS News is distributed via email. Hard copy editions are no longer available.

What's in a Name?
by NATAS Membership Chair Alina Martinet

Wow! Lots to share with the membership of the National Television Academy. Yes, that is our new name. Our national board voted last month to change it. So with that, here are the membership changes that will affect you as a member of the Cleveland Chapter (which includes Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, Toledo; Ft. Wayne, Lafayette and Indianapolis (IN) and Erie (PA).

Our annual dues for an active, associate or regional membership have increased to $60.00 for the year and must be paid in full by January 1, 2003. From that $60.00, NTA will donate $10.00 to our scholarship fund, which supports high school students looking to attend college in the broadcast field. You can prepay for two and three years at $120 and $180 respectively and don't forget you can charge your membership onto your Visa or MasterCard.

Membership in the National Television Academy gives you a huge discount on your Emmy entries, which by the way are due on January 11, 2003. The NTA Member Emmy rate is $75.00 for each entry versus $150.00, the non-member rate. And everyone agrees, the Emmy is the universal symbol for excellence in television.

The National Television Academy is a professional organization designed to further the television industry and those who work in it, throughout the year in educational, social and organizational activities. The annual Emmy Awards program is the most prestigious event the NTA hosts. The Cleveland Chapter's Emmys will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2003, at Windows on the River.

In addition to the Emmys, NTA provides seminars and services throughout the year designed to provide membership with opportunities to learn more about the industry and to meet professionals, at both the local and national level.

This year we have two national scholarship opportunities as an added value to NTA members. If you are interested in learning more, go to www.emmyonline.org/national/scholar/default.asp but you must be an NTA member to take advantage of these!! This could be your year to win an Emmy. Come on. Join NTA.

National Student Television and Student Awards of Excellence Announced

The National Television Academy has announced today the creation of National Student Television and the establishment of the Student Award of Excellence to honor outstanding television journalism by high school students. The program is part of the Academy's newly formed foundation and its educational initiatives.

National Student Television is a program that will promote, encourage and support journalistic skills among students. It will offer curricula designed to expose young journalism enthusiasts to the substantive and ethical aspects of television news.

National Student Television is the first program supported by the newly formed Foundation of the National Television Academy, which will administer this, and other educational initiatives. The Executive Director is Av Westin, long-time ABC News executive and former Executive Producer of ABC News' "20/20."

"This program will serve as an educational tool that not only rewards students for their broadcast journalism, but encourages critical assessment of television," explained Westin. "The central focus of our program is to educate students about the protections and responsibilities of broadcasters engendered in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. These underpinnings to the award are crucial to how we will judge the entries, and provide decisive criteria for how we measure our success."

The Student Award of Excellence is open to any student who is currently enrolled in high school, and is sponsored by the school where the work was produced. Applicants must be currently enrolled as a full-time student as of the application deadline (March 3, 2003). All entries must have been originally broadcast, cablecast or webcast within the National Awards Year from August 1, 2002 to February 28, 2003. Regional Awards will be presented in May 2003. Regional winners will then be invited to a special national recognition luncheon in Washington, D.C. in June. Go to www.nationalstudent.tv for entry information.

Cleveland NTA Offers Scholarships
By Dave Cockley, Scholarship Chairman

The Cleveland Chapter of the National Television Academy is offering three, $2,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Students applying for an NTA scholarship must be high school seniors who plan to attend a four-year college, and intend to pursue a career in television or areas related to television broadcasting. Students must fill out an application (the application may be duplicated as many times as needed), and submit it by March 31, 2003 to:

Dave Cockley
Beachwood Studios
23330 Commerce Park Road
Cleveland, OH 44122

Please do not send applications to our administrative office in Brunswick. This will only delay receipt. If you or students have questions, please feel free to contact Dave at
(216) 292-7300 x147, or at cockley@edr.com.

The scholarship committee will screen the applications and finalists will be notified by mail. Members of the Cleveland Chapter Board of Governors will invite finalists in the spring to an interview. Scholarship recipients and their parents will be guests of the Chapter at the regional EMMY awards ceremony this summer, where they will receive their scholarships.

Your NATAS Membership now includes discounts from HR To Go . . .

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Pick up at our office Monday through Friday, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
OR visit www.jmbs.biz/hr.htm and place your order online. Please use the following password information to access the private section of the website:

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Password: January

Give as gifts or keep on hand (good for up to l year)

Please be sure to include your name, company where you work, address and phone number.

Get on "The Cutting Edge"

The Cutting Edge Seminar at WKYC TV-3 is right around the corner. You have until December 31st to register for only $30. The fee is $40, beginning January 1st.

If you are registering locally, email Kim Fatica at WKYC kfatica@wkyc.com for a registration form. Others should mail their registration fee to Todd Hougaard by Tuesday, December 31. Group rates are available for multiple participants. Contact Todd at thougaard@fox13.com or (801) 536-1313 for more information.

Some of the best television editors in the industry will host the two-day national editing seminar at Channel 3 on January 24th and 25th. The event, sponsored by the Utah Chapter of the National Press Photographers Association, will include presentations by NPPA Editors of the Year Brad Houston (also a former POY, now freelancing), Tressa Verna (NBC Dateline) and Shawn Montano (KUSA), guaranteed to be some of the best storytelling you'll see under one roof.
Participants will get the chance to tour WKYC, one of the top digital broadcast facilities in the country. The studio overlooks a scenic Lake Erie, and is within sight, and a two-minute walk of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland Browns Stadium and many other attractions.

The Holiday Inn Select has reserved 15 rooms for the Cutting Edge Seminar. The hotel is just two doors from WKYC. Rooms will be held until Friday, January 3. Call the hotel at
(216) 241-5100 to make reservations and ask for the WKYC TV rate.

The Embassy Suites is offering a promotional rate of $99. The Embassy is located just a few blocks south of WKYC on 12th Street. For reservations, call (216) 523-8000, and ask for the Cutting Edge Seminar rate.

Reminders

Call for Entries

The deadline for entries is noon, Saturday, January 11, 2003. If you have not received a copy of the Call for Entries in the mail or at your place of business, you can download a copy from our website, www.natascleveland.org or contact our administrators Jackie or Marcie at (330) 273-5756.

The Emmy entry fee for members is $75 and $150 for non-members.

Under the heading "Entry Errors and Omissions," ineligible entries can be disqualified at any stage of the competition. In accordance with the NATAS National Board of trustees, please note on the membership application form, there are no longer regional memberships. All members are either active (currently working in television or video production), associate (working in a related field), or student. On the Emmy entry form, in really small print at the bottom where a synopsis is mentioned, please note the synopsis is desired but not mandatory.

We will accept entries on both Beta and VHS. Since many stations are switching over to digital formats, Beta is becoming history. Next year, we will accept entries only on VHS. This will accommodate the chapters that are judging our entries.

The 34th Annual Emmy Awards Ceremony will be on Saturday, June 7, 2003 at Windows on the River on the west bank of the Flats.

If you have any questions, email Awards Chair, Steve Goldurs at stevegold@stratos.net or call (216) 431-8888 X 5418.

Membership Fees

By now you should have your invoice to renew your NTA membership, due January 1, 2003. Membership fees are now $60; a slight increase but still among the lowest membership fees nationally. You also have the option of renewing your membership now for two or three years.
The increase will help the Chapter among many things, continue its student mentoring programs and produce the Emmy Awards ceremony. The chapter no longer has the luxury of having our local stations produce the Emmys. Now we must hire a producer and foot the bill for all audio, video, lighting, printing, and talent.

Broadcasting Pioneer Roone Arledge Dies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roone Arledge, a broadcasting pioneer whose shows like NFL "Monday Night Football" and "Nightline" revolutionized television news and sports, died earlier this month of complications from cancer. He was 71. Arledge was the chairman of ABC News and a 37-time Emmy Award-winner.

He became chairman of ABC News in 1997, after nearly 20 years as the division's president. He was president of ABC Sports from 1968 to 1986. At ABC Sports, Arledge is credited with introducing technologies such as instant replays, slow motion and advanced graphics.

The programs Arledge created, including "ABC's Wide World of Sports," helped make ABC the dominant network in terms of news and sports coverage over rivals CBS and NBC for many years.

He produced all 10 ABC broadcasts of the Olympic Games. In 1989, he was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame.

In 1994, Sports Illustrated magazine ranked Arledge third, behind boxer Muhammad Ali and basketball star Michael Jordan, in a list of 40 people who had the biggest impact on the world of sports in the past four decades.

Arledge also was listed in a 1990 Life magazine poll as one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."

From the Editor: Cynthia Barnes This time of year, we pause to reflect on the past 12 months. The Cleveland Chapter of NTA has committed to making this organization a benefit to its membership. We will continue to give you timely articles that keep you informed of events locally and nationally. If you are an active member, thanks for your unselfish work throughout the year. If you are not a member, we extend an invitation to join NTA. Your expertise can strengthen others.

Happy Holidays! I wish you a prosperous New Year!

Cynthia Barnes, Editor

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