Spring Cleveland Regional Chapter. President's Message

Cleveland Regional Chapter Serving Bloomington, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Indiana; Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Lima, Mansfield, Toledo, Youngstown, Ohio...
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Cleveland Regional Chapter

Serving Bloomington, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Indiana; Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Lima, Mansfield, Toledo, Youngstown, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania

Spring 2006

President's Message Greeting & Salutations Fellow NATAS Members,

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wish to congratulate our editor Charles (Bud) Ford on his extraordinary contributions to our Chapter’s PR efforts. He and his team of reporters and writers have done an outstanding job of giving you, our members, the opportunity to see what is going on throughout our regional chapter. We are always looking for your feedback and input. If you’ve got a story or want to make recommendations on how we can incorporate additional items or features in our newsletter, don’t hesitate to contact me or Bud. Now, on to current events. As you have noted over the past year, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has been getting a lot of national attention for its events, and development of new categories. We in the Cleveland Regional Chapter are poised to follow suit, and you will be seeing some changes and new categories coming up in next year’s call for entries, but before we look at next year, how about this year. The judging has been completed and the nominations are set to be announced June 8th at Cleveland’s Tequila Ranch. The party begins at 6 PM with the announcements starting after 7 PM. I hope you

have marked it on your calendar. It promises to be a fun evening for all including the unveiling of the new regional Emmy statuette which is quite dynamic. For those of you who can’t attend, we are working on making the event available through streaming media. This has not been finalized but we are putting a concerted effort into “making it so.” Plans for the upcoming Emmy Awards Gala are well underway and the big event is scheduled for September 9th at LaCentre by Signature in Westlake, OH. The venue is outstanding and we have some great things lined up including the presentation of a new special award for stations who have organized and contributed airtime and personnel to disaster relief in the wake of the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. More info will be forthcoming, including the announcement of this year’s host. As always, the Chapter is only what you, our members, make it. Your participation and continued support of the board’s efforts are crucial. We welcome your involvement in events and ongoing efforts sponsored by the Chapter. I hope you will take the opportunity to join our team in making our Chapter the best chapter in the country. Best of luck to all of you in the May Book and I look forward to a rip roarin’ good time at the Emmy Awards Nominations Party at the Tequila Ranch on Thursday, June 8th.

Confession of an Editor in Search of Authors

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Bud Ford Newsletter Editor



t hasn’t been writer’s block. No, it’s been more like that much used expression in business and news reporting: Transparency. Transparency to the “nth degree.” Recently, your friendly NATAS Newsletter editor has been so transparent, there are those who claim he’s invisible. A moving target is hard to hit, but a transparently invisible one – impossible to reach. I could cop the usual plea that I’ve been on assignment, but that would not be transparent. My critics would at least like to see an outline of the physical me so they can take some shots at my transparent

entity. In answer to "Where is your transparent newsletter?," I can only say that all 150 pounds of my protoplasm is back and batting out this edition for all to see. Rest assured this Editor’s transparency will be evident in all that we write and report. We have nothing to hide … no hidden agendas. We’re only trying to get out a newsletter every month or two to let you know what’s going on in our Chapter region with our NATAS members. We hope all of you who read this newsletter, will be forthcoming with some very visible (albeit transparent) leads to stories and events occurring in your stations and production companies that we can write about. I especially need to hear from our members in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Toledo and Youngstown. We’re also looking for authors who would like to express their thoughts in a commentary, editorial, opinion piece or straight reportage. Keep those e-mails, cards, letters and phone calls rolling in to: [email protected] - 216-767-0331.

Hi Def Doc Premieres on WGTE-TV

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oledo’s WGTE-TV has produced a new 60-minute high-definition television documentary entitled “Lake Erie: Ohio’s Great Lake”. In the making for over a year — with principal digital videography starting late in the summer and continuing into the winter months — over 70 hours of high-definition footage was shot of the lake, the communities and the people who live along the water, the industries that sprang up because of easy Great Lakes transportation, and the sport and commercial fishing enterprises spawned by Lake Erie. In addition, over 25 interviews were videotaped with historians, scholars and residents all over the state. Following extensive research, this original footage was augmented with archival photographs and historical film that was edited into the 60-minute final version of the documentary. This documentary was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council (OHC), a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and while it profiles the importance of Lake Erie’s impact on the history, recreation and industry in Ohio, it also highlights how this invaluable natural resource influences virtually every aspect of our lives. In March, WGTE-TV hosted premiere screenings in Toledo at the WGTE studios, in Cleveland at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and in Port Clinton at the

Lake Erie Islands Regional Welcome Center. Audiences engaged in a question and answer session following the screenings with Greg Tye, Senior Producer/Director of the program; Larry Nelson, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University – Fireland’s Campus; and Dr. Randall Buchman, Professor Emeritus of History and Archaeology at Defiance College. Those audiences loved the documentary, and — depending on their special interests — would have liked it to include more of just about everything. Invited film students had plenty of questions about how the documentary was shot and edited. “Lake Erie: Ohio’s Great Lake” premiered on WGTE-TV on April 27 at 8 PM, and the documentary has been made available to all public television stations in Ohio with some stations already committed to airing it. Senior Producer/Director Greg Tye, a tenyear veteran at WGTE, used a wide-net approach to the conception and development of “Lake Erie: Ohio’s Great Lake” in an effort to make this high definition program as inclusive as possible. Greg summarized his thoughts with: “We feel that this documentary will help inspire reflection on the historical importance of the lake and its landscapes in shaping Ohio’s culture, industrial base, ethnicity and future.” The program examines the geology of how the lake was created, the Native American presence, the settlement of the state, the recreation the lake provides, and our impact on the lake itself. The documentary also illustrates the impact on our freedom,





religions, economy, agriculture, recreation and industry by Lake Erie today. We learn that more fish are caught by sport and commercial fishermen on Lake Erie than all the other Great Lakes combined. There are more boats docked at Port Clinton than in San Diego. Lake Erie is a great tourist attraction with more charter boats than any of the other Great Lakes. Dr. Brian Redman, scholar at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, describes the early woodlands people who populated the shores of Lake Erie, the Iroquois Nation pushing out the Wyandotte, Ottawa and Delaware tribes, and the early white settlements leading up to the War of 1812. The program documents Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s capture of a squadron of British warships in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 — a victory that secured control of the lake for the United States and led to eventual peace talks ending the war in 1814. The whole future of the region and the nation was dictated by that significant event. During the course of production, the WGTE hi-def crew shot considerable footage from the decks of a replica of Perry’s sailing ship “Niagra.” But when Greg Tye went into editorial, he found that high definition enhanced the feeling of motion so much that it made viewers seasick, so all that footage had to be scrapped. Shots of the Niagra replica from land are included in the documentary. WGTE-TV has been shooting programs in high definition for about a year, and this challenging documentary was shot by Phil Seija, a twenty-some year veteran videographer who has been associated with the station for over a decade. “Telling the story of Lake Erie is essential in the efforts to improve quality of life for all Ohioans while advocating for the preservation and enhancement of the lake’s natural, historical and cultural resources,” concluded Darren LaShelle, Executive Producer and Director of Television Broadcast Services for WGTE. Greg Tye has produced a variety of programs for WGTE over the past decade. A graduate of the University of Toledo, he first worked at WSPD radio. His production credits include such programs

as Cornerstones: The African-Americans, Toledo Mudhens Story, Legacy of Glass, The Storied Life of Millie Benson, Toledo Museum of Art: A Centennial Portrait and many, many more. Darren LaShelle graduated from Marietta College where he started his career as Program Manager for WCMO-TV2 and went on to become student General Manager of the station during his junior and senior years. After graduation, he joined WTOV–NBC9 in Steubenville, OH as Creative Services Producer/Director. Four years later he moved on to WUPW Fox 36 in Toledo where he served as Promotion and Public Affairs Producer for two years. In 1995, he was hired by WGTE-TV as On Air Promotion Producer. He advanced to Program Manager in 2000. Since 2002, Darren has been Director of Television Broadcast Services which encompasses management of TV Programs, TV Production, TV Producer Group, serving as Executive Producer, Supervisor of TV On-Air Fund-raising, and overseeing development of partnerships furthering the success of WGTE-TV. Darren contributed to the writing of this story.

Will this be YOU in September 2006?

Winners at the 2004 Emmy® Awards Gala



June 8th is Nominations Party Time!

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l rancho de Tequila celebrará los nombramientos de sesenta categorías en las treinta y siete concesiones anuales del premio Emmy del capítulo con cincuenta variedades de tequila, un toro mecánico y una hospitalidad de la música.* Come on out and join the fun at the Cleveland Regional Chapter’s Emmy nominations and networking party at Tequila Ranch, Thursday, June 8th, 6-9 PM! NATAS members free, friends only 5 bucks. Be among the first to know who’s been nominated for 2005 Emmy Awards, and get a sneak peek of the brand new regional Emmy Statuette that will be awarded to all winners at the Regional Emmy Award Gala on Saturday, September 9, 2006. So make plans now to have a swingin’ good Southwestern time with all your amigos at Tequila Ranch where we’ll serve regular, vegetarian and Southwestern hearty appetizers. Discounted drinks will be available at the cash bar. And you’ll have a chance to win door prizes, and meet, mingle with, and say “howdy” to your Chapter officers and governors while celebrating our 2005 Emmy Nominations. For those who would like to party after the nominations, you can challenge your “inner cowboy” by riding the mechanical bull for a minimal fee, and stick around for the live music of the band “Sunset Strip” featuring Billy Morris! *Translate the message above from Spanish to English, and e-mail your translation to [email protected]. The first person to correctly translate the message will receive a Southwestern themed prize! So, please save Thursday, June 8th in your appointment books and calendars, and celebrate our NATAS Nominations and Networking party at the Tequila Ranch, 1229 West Sixth Street in the Warehouse District. Tequila Ranch is honored to serve as the “Official Cleveland Regional Chapter of NATAS Emmy Nominations Announcement Party.” Street parking and nearby parking lots are available. We look forward to seeing you there!

Cleveland Regional Chapter Schools Win 14 Student Television Awards

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n April 28th, The Foundation of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced regional winners of the Student Television Award for Excellence recognizing outstanding television journalism by high school stu-



dents. Student producer/writer teams from around the nation submitted entries in seven categories: News; Arts & Entertainment/Cultural Affairs; Documentary; Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service; Sports; Technical Achievement, and Writing. All entries were originally broadcast, cablecast, or webcast within the eligibility period from February 1, 2005 to January 31, 2006. Students from five schools in our area stretching from Eastern Indiana through Northern Ohio to Western Pennsylvania qualified for seven winning entries and seven runner-up honorable mention entries according to Terry D. Peterson, President of the Cleveland Regional Chapter. Those schools are Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Amherst Steele High School, Medina High School, Middlebrook Education Center in Middleburg Heights (Serving Berea City Schools) and Orange High School in Pepper Pike. Now in its fourth year, the Student Television Award for Excellence is part of the National Student Television program which encourages and supports journalism skills among students The seven winning entries from our region are now eligible for recognition at the national level. A blue-ribbon panel, chaired by Av Westin, Executive Director of the National Academy’s Foundation, will select seven national awardees. These national winning entries will be presented with their awards at a ceremony to be held on Friday, June 9 in New York City. In the category Hubbard Family Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service, Orange High School students Steven Oppenheim and his crew of Mark Waldron, Jesse BoormanPadgett and Ethan Gould were awarded Honorable Men-

tion for “Anatomy of a DUI.” Mark Jones is their teacher and sponsor.

Berea City Schools TV (BCS-TV) has about fifteen students involved in their V-Team (Video Training in Electronic Applied Media). They come from Midpark and Berea High Schools plus Ford and Roehm Middle schools to a studio located in the Middlebrook Educational Center in Middleburg Heights. BCS-TV is not part of any communications curriculum, nor is it an elective class. It’s simply a co-curricular activity that attracts a very dedicated group of students who are not only academically high achievers, but who also volunteer hundreds of hours weekly and return year after year to grow and become more proficient in their broadcasting skills. For thirty weeks of the school year, BCS-TV students turn out a weekly talk show called “A Community of Learning.” They also shoot in the field at all eleven schools in the Berea District, videotape all sorts of concerts and performances, produce one “Loft” documentary, and do a series of interviews entitled “Personalities” with people of prominence in the community. BCS-TV entered only the Documentary category for 2005. Students led by Producer Nikki Adkins and her crew of Ed Zelaski (he’s been on the V-Team for seven years), Samantha Pattantyus, and Terence Anderson earned Honorable Mention for their entry “The Loft—All About Us.” They were advised by their teacher and sponsor, Jason Connelly who was interviewed for this article. This documentary is the sixth in a series started in 2000. Each episode of “The Loft” takes us behind the scenes to a special place such as NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohio State University (they interviewed Coach Jim Tressel – a Berea Schools graduate), WJW/Fox8 studios, etc. The V-Team decided the 2005 Honorable Mention documentary would be “All About Us” … a thirty minute program highlighting the student roles in production, the smorgasbord of shows they create, The Community Bulletin Board and the computer graphics they design for the community access cable channel. The V-Team also had the foresight to design this documentary so it can be used as a recruiting tool that will interest future students to participate in BCS-TV. The V-Team students first learned about NATAS when they submitted “The Loft— Volunteerism” in the Cleveland Regional Emmy Award in the 2001 Student Program Category and that program was nominated for an Emmy Award.



Alex Morando, a student from Medina High School was awarded Honorable Mention for his entry “THE RACSAN MAN” in the Sports Category. Alex Gabrielson served as his teacher and sponsor. Alex will receive his award at a ceremony in the school’s Performing Arts Center on May 30th at 7:00 PM.

Students from Amherst Steele High School continued their winning ways in 2005 racking up six winning entries in the six categories they entered. They also collected one Honorable Mention. The ambitious young broadcasters produce over 130 elevenminute daily “Steele News Live” programs live every school day morning to all classrooms. Tape repeats can we seen on Comcast Cable four times daily, and all programs are archived on the school website: www.amherst.k12.oh.us/steele. Students had plenty of programming to choose from when planning their entries. In addition to the daily news shows, students conceive and produce long form documentaries and specials. Teams of students are assigned to cover sports events as live play-by-play and to get interviews with fans, players and coaches. They are encouraged to deal with serious topics as well as some light hearted and fun stories. “Steele News Live” isn’t just two talking head anchors reading announcements. Pre-produced packages are rolled into the shows, and some of those have served as inspiration for or have been expanded into long form specials. Although most of what the Steele students produce is done

2005-06 Steele News Live Senior TV Class:



Row 1: Alison Marty, Shirin Lotfi, Christina Tomusko, Tim Haglund, Jill Cabranes, Monica Volante, Lindsay Yuhasz, Megan Miller Row 2: Evan Melendez, David Gonzalez, John Eibon, Lauren Forthofer, Amanda Kalivoda, Mitch Lorig, Justin Shields, Amber Lewandowski Row 3: Priscilla Rossi, Matt Baclawski, Terry Traster

for the traditional TV platform, students are very much aware that there are many more opportunities for their skills in webcasting, iPodcasts, and other new media. The Steele program is a two year production course. Juniors enter the program to learn the basics, but the nineteen seniors do most of the on air work. All students are rotated to all the disciplines of production including graphics, editorial, tape operator, camera operator, stage manager, director and on-air performance. With seven nonlinear edit bays, students have the tools to learn the trade. “We try to teach real news gathering, reporting and production,” remarked Mark Lowrie who heads up the TV curriculum at Steele. He’s a teacher with a Masters of Education, but also spent 12 years as a Sports producer and editor at WOIO/WUAB, WBNS and WSYX. The student efforts over the past year did not go unrewarded as witnessed by their sweep of every regional category they entered. Amber Lewandowski had the winning entry “Introducing Ian Arnold” in the Arts & Entertainment/Cultural Affairs category. “Kristina Sliman: ’That’s My Life’” was Steele’s winning entry in the News category as produced by students David Gonzalez, Terrance Traster and Evan Melendez. Taking top honors with the winning entry in Sports was “Game Night—A Three Part Series” produced by Mitch Lorig, Terry Traster and John Eibon. It took most of the senior class at Steele to win the award for Technical Achievement with “Steele News Live—October 12, 2005” directed by John Eibon with Anchors Monica Volante, David Gonzalez and Tim Haglund. The production crew consisted of: Matt Baclawski, Lauren Forthofer, Amanda Kalivoda, Amber Lewandowski, Mitch Lorig, Shirin Lotfi, Alison Marty, Evan Melendez, Megan Miller, Priscilla Rossi, Justin Shields, Christina Tomusko, Terry Traster and Lindsay Yuhasz. “Jan Bender’s Story” was the winning entry in the Documentary category, and Amber Lewandowski who served as producer, was also honored for her script when the program won the Writing Category. In addition to those six winning entries, Monica Volante received an Honorably Mention in the Sports Category for producing: Anna Masterson: Swimming into the Record Books.” During the four years the National Student TV Awards have been in existence, Steele students have compiled an enviable total of eleven winning entry awards and thirteen Honorable Mention Awards. Amherst Steele High School students will receive their awards at a ceremony held at the German Villa on May 22nd at 6:00 PM.



Another big winner of NSTV awards in our Region is Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Director of Television Broadcasting, Dennis Goins, started the school’s broadcast curriculum from scratch in 2002. Before designing the Ben Davis program, he visited six high schools in the area and then incorporated the best facets of each into BDTV’s three-year program. Sophomore’s start by taking prerequisite courses. After that,



they can elect to go into the radio or television tracks as juniors and seniors. BDTV is part of a Career Center serving students who are fed into Ben Davis High from ten different schools. The curriculum is designed to teach the students the five basic components of television broadcasting: camera, audio, lighting, writing and editing. Diligence, discipline, effort and team building activities and strategies are given strong emphasis. Goins points out that the curriculum has enjoyed a high degree of success in a short time. Ben Davis High School has graduated many students who have gone on to study communications in college, while their programs won three student NSTV Awards and an Honorable Mention when they entered for the first time last year. They followed that up this year with three Honorable Mention awards and one winning award. Eight NSTV awards in two years is a remarkable achievement. Collecting the accolades for BDTV 2005 programs were students Joe Daugherty and his one-man crew Schuyler Eckels who produced the winning program “H.O.S.T.S.” in the important Hubbard Family Public Affairs/Community Service/Public Service category. “From Birmingham Jail” racked up an Honorable Mention Award for Regina Atkins and her student crew of Scott Dong in the Arts & Entertainment/Cultural Affairs category. Another Honorable Mention Award was bestowed upon student Miranda Brandenburg and crew member Scott Dong for their News Category entry entitled “9th Grade Center.” Finally, the third NSTV Honorable Mention Award went to student Courtney Moore and crew Shane Nelms for “BDTV” submitted as an entry in the Technical Achievement category. With this accomplishment, it’s easy to see why Ben Davis High School was named “Television School of the Year” in Indiana by the Indiana Association of State Broadcasters in 2004, and has been runner-up the in 2005 and 2006. Much of this success can be attributed to the passion and experience Dennis Goins brings to his work as a teacher and coach (he also happens to be an Assistant Football Coach who instills the sports teamwork concept in his TV production teams). Dennis was an award-winning TV sports photogra-

pher for eighteen years before translating this talent into the teaching profession. He worked at stations in Lafayette, IN; Lexington, KY; Nashville, TN before bringing his craft to WISH-TV, WNDY 23, WRTV-6, WTHR-13 and as a free-lancer in Indianapolis. However, Dennis Goins always wanted to be a teacher-coach who could help young people fulfills their dreams. In just four short years he’s achieved that goal, and the student’s success has made his own dream come true as well. The Foundation of the National Television Academy is the education arm of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Foundation’s mission is the recognition and reward of excellence in television through educational programs including National Student Television as well as university scholarships. The chair of the Foundation of the National Television Academy is Stanley S. Hubbard, chairman of Hubbard Broadcasting, vice chair is Dennis Swanson, president, station operations of Fox Television Stations, the president is Peter O. Price , President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the executive director is Av Westin.

A Chapter from Cleveland TV Jazz History

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by Joe Mosbrook



uke Ellington and his Orchestra played an unusual concert in Cleveland on Monday, July 15, 1963, a performance that is all but forgotten today. Ellington had just performed a Sunday “jazz matinee” at the Musicarnival, the tent theatre on Warrensville Center Road where the musical comedy “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was being performed at night. Ellington and his band stayed over in Cleveland for the unusual concert. Cleveland’s WEWS-TV, Channel 5, was producing a series of television programs featuring some of the top popular and jazz artists of the period. For this program, the station lined up trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and a group of local jazz musicians including pianist Bill Gidney, singer Dinah Washington, and Duke Ellington and his orchestra. The television station tape recorded the program in various segments on the stage of Karamu House at East 89th and Quincy. Opened in 1915 as a neighborhood settlement house, Karamu, over the years, had developed a series of arts programs including nationally recognized dramatic presentations. Langston Hughes, the Cleveland poet and playwright, had been one of the first teachers at Karamu and many of his plays had been debuted there. Interestingly, years earlier, Hughes and Ellington had collaborated on a musical project. But, on this day, four years before Hughes’ death, Ellington was recording a local Cleveland television program. The music director of Channel 5 was Joe Howard, the pianist who had become a popular favorite in Cleveland by playing almost everywhere from saloons to Severance Hall. Howard was to play a medley of Ellington songs in a piano duet with Duke.

JOE HOWARD CIRCA 1954 IN WNBK-TV STUDIO



“They had two Steinway nine-foot grand pianos on stage,” remembered Howard. “There was no audience and we were to play just a medley of a bunch of his compositions.” Dizzy Gillespie and his group recorded the first portion of the videotaped television program. Fearing that the director might insist on a number of retakes, Dizzy made it clear he wanted to play his part only once. He told the director, “I always do it right the first time!” The television director complied with Gillespie’s request and got his camera shots right the first time. Then, it was time for Ellington to take the stage and videotape with Howard. “When it came time to record,” said Howard, “I had not met Ellington nor spoken with him. So I had no idea what we were going to do.” Howard remembers the entire production was pretty informal. Members of the Ellington band were wandering in and out of the Karamu theatre and nobody, including Ellington, seemed to be overly concerned about how the show would go. The members of the Ellington Orchestra at the time included such all-time greats as trumpeters Cat Anderson and Cootie Williams; trombonist Lawrence Brown; saxophonist Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves and Harry Carney; clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton; and drummer Sam Woodyard. “It was time to do Duke’s segment and it involved me,” recalled Howard, and I said, ‘What are we going to do and how are we going to do this?’ He said, ‘You just start and play.’ So I did. And he played with me. He had the good sense to fill in where it needed filling in and to stay out. So I just went ahead and played.” With absolutely no rehearsal and no planning beyond Ellington’s instruction to “Just start and play,” the pianist, who had graduated from Cleveland’s John Adams High School and Western Reserve University and was making his living playing on Dorothy Fuldheim’s One O’Clock Club television program found himself playing twin pianos with perhaps the most important figure in 20th Century music.

Howard said, “When we were playing ‘Squeeze Me,’ the band suddenly came in. They also joined in as we played ‘A-Train,’ and ‘J-Jam Blues.’ It was just marvelous how the whole thing worked out.” While he was playing a piano duet with Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Howard recognized a familiar face in the band. “Playing bass on his band,” he remembered, “was Ernie Sheppard who was from Cleveland. I used Shep a lot before he joined Ellington. We used to do the morning Paige Palmer Show (on Channel 5). He and I played exercise music for her. And he worked with me at a couple of Cleveland clubs. It was nice to see him.” The videotaped television program was broadcast on Channel 5 sometime later. Howard, after leaving Channel 5, became a professor of music at Cuyahoga Community College in 1969. For almost three decades, he taught music and jazz and told his students about Ellington. “I think he had a great band and he was a fine piano player,” said Howard, “and I think his greatest contribution was the American song. He wrote some gorgeous things. And the key changes that took place in the middle of many pieces was extremely innovative.” But, more than three decades later, Howard still did not have a recording, a videotape, or even a photograph of his twin-piano performance in Cleveland with Duke Ellington. He lamented, “I’m so sorry that I didn’t have someone down there with a camera to take a picture of the two of us at the pianos.” Joe Mosbrook is a retired reporter for the NBC TV Network and Channel 3 in Cleveland. In 1968, he anchored continuous NBC radio network coverage of Robert Kennedy’s assassination. Mosbrook was the first reporter to take a TV camera into a courtroom in Ohio. Joe began his broadcasting career as a radio news reporter and play-by-play sportscaster for WEST in Easton, PA, went on to do play-by-play for WLEV-TV in Bethlehem, PA, was radio & TV Chief for the 18th Airborne while serving in the Army. After discharge, he was News Director back at WEST, and then from 1961-67 for WDEL in Wilmington, DE. Mr. Mosbrook was elected to the Silver Circle in 1996 for his more than 25 years of distinguished service to the television industry. Joe has been President of the Cleveland AFTRA local, Vice President and Newsletter editor for The Northeast Ohio Jazz Society and has served on the Board of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. Since 1988, he has produced over 900 programs entitled “Cleveland Jazz History” on WCPN. This story appeared in a slightly different form in his book “Cleveland Jazz History” published in 1993 and still available from Gail Stephany of the Northeast Ohio Jazz Society by calling 216-252-0828.

by Bud Ford

Inc. and as an associate marketing manager for Intec, Inc., the nation’s leading third-party video game accessory manufacturer. Beth is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College.

Mark Koontz Back On Air Mark Koontz, the weekend weather reporter at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown suffered a stroke while he was doing his Saturday night 6 PM broadcast about six weeks ago. A physician watching the show recognized the symptoms and called into the station and told the crew to call 911 immediately and get Mark to a hospital. Mark somehow was able to complete his report, and he was taken by ambulance to Northside Medical Center. From there he was lifeflighted to the Cleveland Clinic where he was treated and began his long recovery. There was a great outpouring of concern by the public and he received hundreds of cards and letters as well as over 1400 e-mails from his loyal audience inquiring about his health and wishing him well. Mark was in the station this week to do a dry run of his weather reports and was back on the air the weekend of May 20-21.



In Beachwood, OH, EDR/ Beachwood Studios has announced the appointment of Maura Mooney to be Production Manager for Digital Media Networks in their EDR Media Division. She’ll be developing and producing video program, promotional messages, transitional elements and advertising commercials. Maura comes to EDR from Liggett-Stashower one of the areas largest advertising agencies where she was an Emmy Award winning producer and Broadcast Business Affairs Manager with almost twenty years of experience in broadcast and non-broadcast production. Also joining EDR Media is Elizabeth Ziehm who has been named Project Manager for Interactive Media and Digital Signage. Beth was a media buyer for Toledo-based Communica,

Regional Roundup

EDR/Beachwood Studios Hires New Production and Project Managers

Jay Kerekes Honored Jay Kerekes, retired WEWS Newschannel 5 Executive who served as Assistant to General Managers Don Perris and Ed Cervenak, and was active with Scripps Howard Broadcasting surveying most of their cable TV systems, was inducted into the Bedford High School Hall of Fame earlier this spring. Jay was an avid fisherman, and Silver Circle Honoree Roy Myers recalls how Jay generously invited Roy, Bill Wiedenmann, and some of the other Channel 5 guys up to his fishing lodge on the Black River in Quebec to catch their limit of walleye and pike.

Les Roberts Memoirs Published



Les Roberts, the noted novelist who wrote thirteen Milan Jacovich mystery thrillers all using prominent Cleveland locations, has just had his new book “We’ll Always Have Cleveland – A Memoir of a Novelist and a City” published by Gray & Co. Les has written nine other books of fiction and is Past President of The Private Eye Writers of America and American Crime Writers League. In this memoir, Roberts tells how he discovered the heart and

soul of a city while fictionalizing it for a series of novels. He writes about his favorite locations and his favorite people (and at least one person who was not happy to find himself in a novel). It will appeal to fans of the series, fans of the city, and aspiring novelists who want to learn how one writer took a city and made it his own through fiction. Before Les came to Cleveland from Hollywood for the first time in 1986, he was the first producer and head writer of Hollywood Squares, and wrote for the Andy Griffith Show, the Jackie Gleason Show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and other shows. He came to Cleveland on a cold winter’s day in January to serve as the first writer/producer and consultant to help design the Ohio Lottery’s successful and long running “Cash Explosion” regional network television show that originated at WEWS. When he wasn’t meeting with the client or working with his production team to get the shows on the air, he created the Milan Jacovich character and batted out page after page of his first book in the series — "Pepper Pike"— on a Selectric typewriter that Marcus Advertising loaned him. Roberts drew heavily on real Cleveland places and people for the authentic local flavor of

his stories. Les had only on a 26week contract to get the show launched. He stayed a little longer, but after returning briefly to Los Angeles, decided Cleveland was a great place to live … and write. After spending just a few months in Cleveland, he found himself so completely won over by the people and the community, he decided to give up the glitz of Hollywood and put down roots in this rustbelt city. Besides being a TV Producer and author, Roberts has been a professional actor, a singer, a jazz musician, and a teacher. In 2003 he received the Sherwood Anderson Literary Award. A native of Chicago, he currently lives in his adopted home town of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. “We’ll Always Have Cleveland” (hardcover/ 192 pages) is available at Northeast Ohio bookstores and online from Amazon.com.

Center for Television History And speaking of books, we’re reminded by television personality and Silver Circle winner Neil Zurcher, who also happens to be author of several travel books all with the common theme “One Tank Trips,” that The Philo T. Farnsworth Center for Television History is located in the American Heritage Village museum complex in Auburn, IN.

New Cable Network Covers Indians Kudos to Pat Murray and his crew for dramatic coverage of the Cleveland Indians games on the new SPORTSTIME OHIO cable network. Terrific coverage of all the live action; crisp, new and readable graphics; and a couple of interesting new long shots from the right and left field corners.



Gold Circle Winner Recovering Gold Circle winner Jack Moffitt, former Sales Manager of WEWS and General Manager of WUAB has made a remarkable recovery from recent health problems that had him hospitalized. Jack is back home recuperating and is expected to bring his wry sense of humor, vast knowledge and incredible decision making skills to the next Board of Governors meeting of the Cleveland Regional Chapter on May 24.

Lou Maglio Takes Over for Tim Taylor as Co-Anchor at WJW/Fox8

Andy Baskin Moves to WKYC-TV Sportscaster Andy Baskin has moved over to WKYC-TV from Fox Sports Net Ohio where he had previously hosted pre and post Tribe game shows. At TV3 he’s handling weekend sports anchor and field reporting assignments.

Poetry I asked WEWS/ Newschannel 5 anchor Leon Bibb if he had ever written a poem about TV because I thought it would be a good idea to have a Poetry Slam column in our newsletter. We might even name a Chapter Poet Laureate if we have some interest. Bibb has done some jazz/poetry performances and is a noted and passionate actor off camera when he can get on stage.



Over at WJW/Fox8, Lou Maglio has ably stepped in to join Wilma Smith as co-anchor, replacing the retired Tim Taylor who hung it up after more than 40 years of news reporting and anchoring. So what’s become of Taylor? He may not be on the tube anymore, but he hasn’t stopped working. Tim has joined his wife, Cathy KropfTaylor and their daughter, Andrea Hockey, as a realtor providing real estate service to clients through Howard Hanna-Smythe Cramer. The Taylor family will now be known professionally as The Tay-

lor Group. Tim continues with his many community volunteer efforts including the Tim Taylor Pro Am Invitational Golf Tournament, which has raised over one million dollars since 1991 for the Epilepsy Society of Northeast Ohio.

Couldn’t Tell You on Television.” Theatrical performances by Leon Bibb also include playing four characters in a reprise of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” on WCLV. The drama was produced before a live audience at the Cleveland Institute of Music on the night before HALLOWEEN just as Welles had done it in the 1938 CBS radio production. He’s appeared at Karamu House several times, and recently starred in the romantic play “Same Time Next Year” with Dee Perry of WCPN radio. It was quite a production!

Hi Definition This week, WKYC/TV3 joins WJW/Fox8 in the Cleveland market by telecasting their local programming in high definition.

New CW Affiliates WFMJ-TV in Youngstown and WBNX-TV in the Cleveland area have been announced as the new CW affiliates starting this fall. Lou Spangler, GM of WBNX is a happy camper and expects the newly merged UPN/WB networks to be a surprisingly good network. Last Thursday, CW announced



He replied “The only (broadcast) poetry I can think of is a piece written by Norman Corwin, a great television show author, who wrote “Network at 50” … when CBS radio network turned fifty years old. Walter Cronkite read the poem on a CBS special.” If any of you out there have written poetry … whether it's about TV or just about the world around us, send it in to me and we’ll see if there is enough interest to start a Poetry Slam Column. Leon and his good friend Brian McIntyre of the Ohio News Network will perform in a two-man show of original poetry and original guitar music on Thursday June 22nd at Plymouth Church, Coventry and Drexmore in Shaker Heights at 7 PM. Admission is free, but reservations are required and can be made by e-mail by going to [email protected]. The poetry and storytelling set to music will have an autobiographical tone recalling stories that run throughout Leon’s life, his parents lives, and his grandparents lives. The show is entitled: “An Evening With Leon Bibb — All the Things I

their fall prime time lineup retaining six series from the old UPN and five programs from WB. Two new series will be added to the carryovers.

had his or her name announced, along with the owner’s name. Dick practically invented the

Dick Goddard Celebrates 75th Birthday Toni Garbo and some of the staff at WJW/Fox8 decided to pull a surprise party for Dick Goddard on the occasion of his 75th birthday by inviting only dogs to help him celebrate. He was really surprised, and thrilled too! The guests who were invited (some 40 showed up) were all



Dick’s Dogs — pets he had placed with loving families over the years on his shows. The party went to the dogs with a little parade of pooches in the studio; and as they trotted by Dick, each canine guest

category of official TV meteorologist and weather anchor. He’s certainly the longest running weathercaster/ anchor in the Cleveland market …and maybe even in the world. He started his broadcasting career at KYW-TV (now WKYC/TV3) in 1961 as Chief Meteorologist, and moved to WJW/Fox8 in 1966. He was inducted into the Silver Circle in 1992 for his pioneering efforts and distinguished service to the television industry. Dick Goddard’s 75th Birthday

Party was truly a very special evening with over a hundred people joining 40 of Dick’s Dogs in the celebration. There were pet lovers, politicians, festival folks, representatives of animal organizations he’d worked with over the years, friends, associates, Fox8 personalities and management. Adding to the festivities were Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy DiMora. Nationally recognized and praised for his genuine concern for animal welfare and for having

Carole Chandler Sullivan Leaves WKYC for Kalamazoo Carole Chandler Sullivan, has just announced her resignation as co-anchor of WKYC’s morning show where she’s been holding forth since 2002. She’s been with the station since 1998 and was a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor on the evening news before moving to morningside. Sullivan will be joining her husband Mike in Kalamazoo where he is offensive line coach for Western Michigan University. The couple is expecting their first baby later this summer.



placed thousands of orphaned pets into loving families, Dick is also noted for having created Ohio’s largest one day event—his Woolleybear Festival, now in its 34th year! Dick’s Dogs and Dick’s people watched him blow out all those candles into one big ball of

wax as they celebrated with him his many years of accomplishments and contributions to the communities of Northeast Ohio.

New Faces With the departing on-air talent at Cleveland stations, we’ve been greeted by some new faces in recent months. At WEWS/ Newschannel 5, replacing Stephanie Roberts who headed to Florida to be with her husband, Susanne Horgan has taken over as morning meteorologist. Jeff Eliasopb joined WOIO/WUAB as a general assignment reporter and news anchor after a stint in Austin, TX. We may need a GPS unit to keep track of the comings and goings.

WEWS Welcomes New VP/GM

Multiple Emmy award winning Kim Fatica, Director of News Operations at WKYC is an Eagle Scout and dedicated scout leader. This February, for the second year in a row, he did a bang-up job as Master of Ceremonies for the Cleveland Council BSA Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel entertaining over 500 Eagle Scouts, their Scoutmasters, friends and families.

WOAC Announces Programming Change WOAC-TV in Canton will be sporting a new on-air look by the end of June, when the E.W. Scripps Co. shutters their “Shop at Home” television operation currently watched by some 57 million viewers on their cable channel, website ShopAtHomeTV.com, and stations in the San Francisco, Boston, Raleigh-Durham and



We met John Butte, recently appointed VP and General Manager of WEWS/Newschannel 5. John had been acting GM after the departure of Ric Harris last year and before that served as the station’s News Director since 2004 after coming to Cleveland from OhioNewsNet. We hope to have an in-depth interview with John in the next issue of NATAS e-Newsletter that will kick off a series of "Meet the General Manager" articles.

Kim Fatica Emcees Eagle Scout Dinner

Bridgeport markets besides WOAC. All five stations will continue to operate as independents with alternative programming.

New Digital Courses Offered at Tri-C Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland has two new courses in digital video and digital filmmaking that are offered during the regular school year under TriC’s Associate Degree program for Visual Education and Design. The courses are Digital Cinematography (VCDV 2180) and Intro to Dv Filmmaking (VCDV 1180). Full course descriptions can be found in Tri-C’s on-line course catalog at http://www.tri-c.edu/courses — search under VCDV. It is possible these courses will be offered this summer according to Miriam Bennett Assistant Professor of Visual Communication and Design. Tri-C students also have a student organization called the Digital Cinema Group – a club that gives DV students an opportunity to work collaboratively shooting a variety of projects. It’s a great way, Bennett says, to meet other students interested in the craft. Gina Brinker is club president and can be reached at [email protected].

Let Us Hear From You! We know the television stations and production companies in Bloomington, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron and Erie are doing a lot of interesting stuff, and we’d like to include your activities, personalities and accomplishments in our Regional Roundup. We welcome your Press Releases, pictures, story leads, commentaries, observations or byline articles. Send to [email protected] or call me at 216-767-0331 or cell 419-297-3843.

Wayne Dawson Emcees BSA Adult Recognition Dinner Wayne Dawson, co-anchor of WJW/Fox8 News In The Morning and host of the public affairs program “Neighborhood” was applauded by some 400 Boy Scout leaders attending the Cleveland Council BSA Adult Recognition Dinner at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center for being cool and contemporary while having a lot of fun as the engaging Master of Ceremonies for the annual March event.

NEW ADVANCED MEDIA COMMITTEE Peter O. Price (President and CEO) and Dennis Swanson (Chairman) of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have announced the formation of a new national Advanced Media Committee. Shelley Palmer, currently 1st VP of the New York Chapter of NATAS has been appointed Chairman. Charter committee members include: V. Michael Bove, Jr., Director, Consumer Electronics Lab, MIT Media Laboratory; Kevin Cohen, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Turner Broadcasting System; Channing Dawson, SVP Emerging Media, Scripps Networks; Barry Fischer, EVP Turner Broadcasting; Tim Hanlon, Senior Vice President, Ventures, Denuo - A Publicis Groupe Company; Steve Jacobs, VP Broadband Alliances, Sony Corporation of America; Jeff Joseph, Vice President, Communications & Strategic Relationships, Consumer Electronics Association; Rick Mandler, VP/GM ABC Enhanced Television; Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School and Martin J. Yudkovitz, SVP Corporate Strategy and Business Development, The Walt Disney Company. Aside from overseeing the Advanced Media Technology Emmy Awards process, the Committee will study the potential of advanced media and emerging technology and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees for a strategy to consider inclusion in the Emmy Awards of some of these new platforms. The Committee will also create events that will encourage and facilitate dialogue between industry professionals. You may be eligible to submit your work for Emmy consideration in the areas of Advanced Media, Broadband or Mobile technology. To find out, please visit http:// www.emmyonline.org/emmy/advmedia.html and download the 2006 Advanced Media Technology Emmy Awards Rulebook and Call for Entries.

See you at Tequila Ranch!

TOM MERRIMAN WINS TWO NATIONAL AWARDS WJW/Fox8 I-Team reporter Tom Merriman started 2006 right by being awarded the prestigious national Alfred I. DuPont/Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism excellence. Merriman was one of thirteen national winners out of 628 entries. Six investigative news reports produced by networks, cable news and local stations were among the thirteen winners. Tom’s winning entry was his 22-part I-Team investigative report entitled “School Bus Bloat,” and it was in pretty good company with such national recipients as ABC News; CNBC; CNN; PBS Frontline produced by WGBH, Boston; HBO; and the Sundance Channel. The DuPont is considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize and is presented for both TV and radio broadcast journalism excellence. The Journalism School of Columbia University also administers the Pulitzer Prize Awards. The nine member Blue Ribbon Jury who selected the winning entries was comprised of Columbia Vice Dean David Klatell as Chair; Roberta Baskin, Executive Director of The Center for Public Integrity; James Carey, CBS Professor of International Journalism at Columbia; Barbara Cochran, President of the RTNDA; Callie Crossley, media critic Beat the Press; John Dinges, Associate Professor at Columbia; Cinny Kennard, Manager NPR West Coast Production Center; John Martin, former ABC News correspondent and adjunct professor at Columbia; and George Strait. Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs at the University of California Berkeley. Merriman accepted the coveted Silver Baton during a January 18th cer-



emony at Columbia University. The Silver Baton is inscribed with Edward R. Murrow’s famous observation about television “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that

humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.” Bob Schieffer of CBS News hosted the ceremony and when he handed the Baton to Merriman, Tom exclaimed “This thing is really heavy!” Yes, not only physically, but also with the responsibility that goes along with it. Also cited on the award entry for their contributions to production of the series were Producer and Researcher, Mark DeMarino; Photojournalist, Dave Hollis; Editors Chuck Rigdon and Matt Rafferty; News Director Greg Easterly; and WJW/Fox8 Vice President and General Manager Michael V. Renda. In March, this same I-Team crew captured another national journalism award for investigative reporting by entering “School Bus Bloat” in the Investigative Reporters and Editors national awards competition for investigative reporting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Out of 563 entries, Tom Merriman was awarded one of only fifteen IRE Medals—the highest honor presented for investigative reporting. The ITeam’s multiple part series documented millions of wasted dollars while hundreds of teachers were being laid off, and inflated ridership reports by the Cleveland School District’s Transportation Department. Merriman’s investigation resulted in $4,000,000 in cost savings to the School District, the repayment of $729,000 in ill-gotten state transportation funding, a criminal indictment, an outside audit, and the hiring of a private firm to manage the transportation department.

"ONLY OHIO" HITS THE ROAD

A



new series of road shows entitled “Only Ohio” has telecast three episodes since its premiere in January on WEAO/WNEO, the PBS stations in Kent. The thirtyminute programs focus on people, places and all things unique to the Buckeye State. Host and researcher/writer/producer Judy Jeffreys thought it was about time for an in-depth feature program about Ohio’s many fascinating and distinctive destinations from Ashtabula to Marietta and many points in between. Each program has targeted a single subject to assure plenty of time for complete coverage of every aspect of that subject. Judy told us that many states have their own television programs that



are educational and informative, and often these are sponsored or underwritten by the state office of tourism. In her research, Judy found that shows promoting tourism in states have been on the air for an average of 12 years. California Gold in the Golden Bear state has been broadcasting for over 16 years. The series opened with a profile of Bob Evans that was shot in Rio Grande at the family home where Bob and his cousin Dan were interviewed by Ms. Jeffreys. The show also gave us a look at the original 12-seat diner in Gallipolis where the billion dollar Bob Evans food empire started, and the viewers were also transported to the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival. The second episode, “The Johnny Appleseed Outdoor Drama,” was aired in February. Shot last August, at the 1,700 seat outdoor theater built in the woods near Mansfield, Jeffries spoke with the founder, cast and some of the audience after a performance of the historical drama about the legendary Ohioan—Johnny Appleseed. Then she introduced the audience to the owner of one of Ohio’s largest apple orchards to learn more about the impact of apple growing on the state’s economy. The third installment took viewers to Kidron, in the heart of Wayne County’s Amish country, where we met the folks who operate Lehman’s Hardware Store. From a little General Store serving farmers in the region, Lehman’s has become an international superstore that now ships good old-fashioned, high quality merchandise all over the world from their computerized communications center. We learn that Lehman’s has supplied numerous Hollywood films with antique-looking period products used as props and set dressing. This episode aired in late March and early April. Companies from four Ohio towns collaborated to make the initial programs in the series possible. J.M. Smucker Company in Orrville provided funding, Judy Jeffreys Productions in Hudson is the producer in association with PBS 45/49 in Kent, and Classic Teleproductions located in Twinsburg shot the

shows. Ms. Jeffreys has stated the series will be made available without charge to all PBS stations in Ohio. Ms. Jeffreys said that she is working hard to find additional funding to underwrite the cost to produce more episodes in the series and keep the program on the air. If you have ideas for new stories or suggestions for possible underwriters for the series, contact her at: [email protected] or by snail mail at Only Ohio, PBS 45/49, PO Box 5191, Kent, OH 44240-5191. To learn more about the program go to www.onlyohio.org. Judy Jeffreys is a Clevelander who studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and in 1983 moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. She has played leading roles in musicals including Sound of Music, South Pacific, Grease, and toured in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Oliver with Don Ameche and Rip Taylor. She appeared on the soaps Days of Our Lives and Santa Barbara. Her film credits include The Escape Artist. As a vocalist she has been a jingle singer and has performed at events for Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan.

Chapter Scholarship Finalists Named

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By: Karen Zolka



eventy-four applications were received by the Cleveland Regional Chapter’s annual scholarship program, which in recent years has awarded three scholarships to graduating high school seniors from our Chapter area. Criteria for the scholarship include plans to attend a four year college and pursue a career in the television industry. The scholarship committee narrowed the field down to 11 finalists: Andrew Borts, Boardman High School; Stephanie Claytor, Twinsburg High School; Theodore Inman, Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis; Tyler Komjati, T.W. Harvey High School in Painesville; Amber Lewandoski, Amherst Steele High School; Nicole Little, Hoover High School in North Canton; Jonathan McClure, Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis; Olivia Otten, Midview High School in Columbia Station; Carissa Rossi, Strongsville High School; Edward Zelaski, Midpark High School in Middleburg Heights; Riannon Ziegler, Fairview High School in Fairview Park. Nine of these finalists met in person with the scholarship committee at WKYC/TV 3, on May 18th; while the two Indianapolis students, because of travel distance, were interviewed via phone conference call. Following a reception at WKYC, the students were given a tour of the state-of-theart news set, digital studios, newsroom and offices. Afterwards, each finalist met individually with the scholarship committee. Each student was given a Congratulatory letter, a NATAS Cleveland Regional Chapter mug, a WKYC/TV 3 cup and a Channel 3 pencil. The scholarship committee then selected the three winners who will each be awarded $2,000 scholarships to be presented to them at the 37th annual Emmy



Award Gala on September 9th. The winners for 2006 are: Andrew Russell Borts, Stephanie Claytor and Jonathan M. McClure. Andrew Borts has a 3.97 GPA and works as a director, producer, anchor and videographer for Boardman High School productions. He was awarded the 2005 Videographer Award of Distinction for his work on a play-by-play basketball broadcast. Stephanie Claytor has a 3.98 GPA and works at the Twinsburg High School news station as a reporter, announcer, editor and videographer. She also contributed to the school video yearbook and has taken classes at Kent State University. In addition she has several paying jobs and has shadowed Cynthia Barnes, a Youngstown TV anchor/reporter and former Chapter Governor. Jonathan McClure has a 3.2 GPA and has already had internships at WFYI/PBS in Indianapolis. Jonathan has an extensive list of credits including a documentary he shot on location in Chernobyl entitled “Nowhere to Hide: The Chernobyl Disaster.” The Chapter began its scholarship program at the Emmy Awards program on June 8, 1991 when then President Rich O’Dell announced “THIS YEAR WE’VE STARTED A NATAS SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR DESERVING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS PLANNING TO STUDY IN THE FIELD OF TELEVISION. THE SCHOLARSHIP IS FUNDED ENTIRELY FROM THE ‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’ THAT OVER 150 OF YOU ATTENDED EARLIER THIS YEAR. CLEVELAND NATAS IS PRESENTING A $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP, AND TONIGHT YOU’LL MEET THE RECIPIENT OF THIS YEAR’S SCHOLARSHIP.” Joanne Piper was the first Chair of the scholarship committee, and she recalls that Monica Fry was the first recipient. As one of three scholarship recipients last year, I was able to observe the astounding skill level that these seniors possess. In the group of finalists last year, most of the students already had several years of television experience, some had participated in award-winning projects and some had even helped start television programs at their schools. Speaking for myself, I have been involved with the television industry for five years. I received the 2003 Golden

Microphone Award, and have interviewed many persons, including the current gubernatorial candidate, Representative Ted Strickland. I chose to attend Ohio University because the Scripps School of Journalism is one of the top ten journalism schools in the country. This year I served as a freshman executive for the Society of Professional Journalists, and I am Vice President-elect for 2006-2007. I am also involved with the Radio and Television News Directors Association and the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society. I read and write newscasts for the WOUB radio and television stations in Athens. The Cleveland Chapter scholarship was beneficial to me because, instead of having to work part time, I was able to devote more time to projects, such as the Freedom of Information Audit Project. In this project all the public institutions in Ohio were audited to test the availability of public records. Those of us, who were lucky enough to be awarded one of the Cleveland Chapter scholarships, understand that the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences represents excellence in the industry, and we’re already motivated to raise the level of talent when we graduate and enter the profession. Through education and experience, we will push the field to even higher levels of excellence. On behalf of all scholarship recipients, thank you for your financial support that’s helping us get the education we need so that we’ll have the opportunity to improve television in the future.

Archives: Guardians of Our Life and Times



As the immediacy of our business demands our attention to the tasks at hand, archiving has not been a hot topic. But as we continually move forward in a business driven by the moment of now, is there value to what once was? Broadcasters, production houses, colleges and industrial video shops now face a new challenge. It can be seen each time a person goes into a tape library for historical pieces to connect or fill a story. Often, the archives do not go very deep. In some cases, some selection may only be recent, as extremely old stock and programs have either been discarded or ignored. The same question arises for colleges and universities. These institutions house wonderful collections in print and film, but only a few have addressed the concerns of video assets retention. This topic also touches the industry at a personal level, where resume reels, Emmy® nominated programs and personal collections accumulate with the individual,



but eventually become forgotten and lost to time as a result of poor care or format obsolescence. Yet, many professionals have been aware of this over the last few decades. Most could not address the need due to the sheer volume and cost of material that the industry produced since the beginning of the industry. The late Charles Kurault once said that; “Television back then (in the1950’s) was once thought of as Kleenex for the eyes. You use it once, and then throw it away. Nobody knew how big television would be.1" But there are methods to help preserve the history of our industry, and give it new life. Regardless of facility, many of us are facing a twofold issue. The first must identify the value of video assets that support the broadcasting and rich media opportunities, and the second will identify the assets that support the history of our industry. To the first issue, the content life cycle may be short, with only the occasional repurposing of the top assets. And in a world that is demanding more media content while becoming increasingly digital, there is a greater need to preserve broadcasts assets. Blogs, websites and wikis all contribute to the collective histories, resources and opportunities in the digital age. But television was the first true streaming media, with the level of integrity and professionalism that could only be matched by newsprint and radio. As the Internet, High-Def and wireless technologies encroach and become mainstream, we must take advantage of our abilities to compete with, and embrace this fledgling media. To do so we can only address the content issues from the typical local sources of newly created segments, or repurposed segments from the station archive. And to assume that repurposing opportunities do not exist for our industry is closing the doors to our past and future in both a creative and financial sense. The recent announcements of the Time-Warner internet television venture, coupled with the downloadable programs from the Apple Itunes store shows that repurposed content has a market whether its hours or decades old. Once repurposing opportunities have been exhausted and the broadcast value has reduced to below an effective return on investment, the second issue of historical archiving then



comes into play. Under the second issue, assets may retain value in the form of donation to a bona fide educational or historical center. Under these conditions the assets may continue to be available to the station while serving the needs of broadcast students and researchers. As to the issues involving the current asset lifecycle and volatility, video professionals are aware of the effects of magnetic fields to videotape. Combined with a maximum shelf life of 20 to 25 years, many assets from a station’s collective past are in danger of permanent loss. And although other media also have shortcomings that can place them at some level of risk, inaction is the worst of all available choices. New professional products are providing the opportunity to extend the video asset lifecycle, and with reduced material cost. With the process relying on digital recording, once the transfer takes place, all future transfers will (along with other factors) suffer no loss in quality. And over the last several years, data and media experts have continued to test CD and DVD media for life expectancy. Several warning flags did come up concerning the longevity of these materials. But despite the shortcomings of CD & DVD rot, next generation technologies appear to be more robust than the predecessor technologies. A variation of Blue Ray technology is the basis for Sony’s new XDCam technology. Estimated at a 50-year shelf life, this is better than double the projected lifespan of videotape. The P2 system marketed by Panasonic competes for the digital space with an equally impressive format. As technology continues to grow, tapeless technologies will increase in reliability and shelf life. But again, do we abandon our analog assets? Smart facilities will know that good asset management does not allow for the wholesale discarding of relevant material. Good asset management considers archiving with some common sense questions. Is this library an archive, or a living library that we continue to pull content from? Is there a market for these assets in a broadcast, on-line or promotional context? Will it be more economical for us to archive the material, or repurchase stock footage from a third party? Is there a public partnership available that can provide non-tangible, research or public relations value in exchange for these assets? Is there a reason for an all or nothing approach, or can we split the collection as a partial archive that we retain and the remainder to be donated? What format will provide us the best retention of assets, while optimizing the media quality? As a final consideration, we often forget that our industry has a history. We forget that just like our counterparts in print, we not only document the events that become history, we become part of history in our own right. This has no better an example

than the NATAS Silver and Gold Circle inductees whose careers influenced not just a business, but each community and market in our region. Preservation and archival activities no longer call exclusively to academia. The economic and technological times we live in demand creative and resourceful ways to improve quality of service, accuracy of content, and improvement in the return on investment. The nature and draw of history also demands that television takes its rightful place as both the documenter and subject of history. There is no reason this industry cannot do both. Indeed, television by its nature has proven time and time again that it can be both a successful business and a servant of the public interest, convenience and necessity. It makes us not only broadcasters, but also guardians of our life and times. ________________________________________________________________ Recommended technical reading from external sources: March 9, 2005 Home Media Server Concepts Evolve as published by Karl Paulsen of TV Technology Magazine http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/Media-Server-Tech/F_Paulsen-03.09.05.shtml

Optical disks might not last as long as you would expect—or hope by By Joab Jackson, Government Computer news http://www.gcn.com/23_5/news/25166-1.html

Verbatim DVD+R Media Projected lifespan http://www.verbatim.com.au/products.cfm?ID=94865&technoteID=1118

Riss, Dan, “Preservation of Magnetic Media”, Conserve-O-Gram 19/8. National Park Service: Harpers Ferry, WV., July 1993. http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/19-08.pdf

XDCAM Review at NAB 2004 by Mal Hamilton of Digital Media World (Republished at the XDCam Pro Users Group (Australia) http://xdcam.com.au/modules/sections/index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1

(Footnotes) 1

Quote from “When Television was Young”, produced and aired on CBS Television-

March, 1977

Joe Koskovics, Chair, Emmy® Awards Committee [email protected] 216-987-4686

COUNTDOWN TO GALA SHOW SATURDAY We’re getting close to the hundred day countdown to the Emmy Awards Show Gala that will be held this year at the LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio on Saturday evening, September 9, 2006. In our last issue of the NATAS e-Newsletter we gave you a look at the dramatic exterior architectural beauty of LaCentre, and now we want to give you a glimpse of the elegant interior where we’ll gather for the pre-show cocktail party and the ballroom where dinner be served and the awards program will be staged.

Our site committee has reserved the entire LaCentre facility for this year’s Emmy Awards Show Gala. Write in … punch in … do whatever it takes to mark your calendar and save Saturday, September 9th for the Emmys! Come celebrate and have a blast with the best in TV broadcasting.

Moniker Make-over in the Works

by: Bud Ford



Your Board of Governors started talking about changing the name of the annual Chapter Emmy Awards back in the early 90s when we expanded our chapter to include the Indiana markets. The discussion shifted to changing the Chapter name three years ago when we asked members as well as officers and governors to suggest some names that might be more inclusive. In the summer of 2004, Governor Tony Hoty chaired a committee that whittled down a long list of suggested names into six finalists, and the Board was asked to vote

on one. For some reason, probably because of a conflict with another Chapter, that name didn’t fly. Another vote was held at the May, 2005 Board of Governors meeting, but there was a question whether there was a quorum when the vote was taken and there was a suggestion that it was vital to have a stronger consensus for the new name among the board members. In June, 2005, your Board of Governors adopted a resolution to support a name change from Cleveland Regional Chapter that will better reflect the demographics of our Chapter region and resolved to make significant strides to be more inclusive of all members in this Chapter. Under the leadership of 1st Vice President and Outreach Committee Chair, Gary Manke, a membership-wide contest was held and three new names were finalists. A winner has been selected, and if it is approved by the National Trustees at their meeting next month, history will be made when the Cleveland monicker gets a make-over. Watch our Website for this important announcement.

FOND FAREWELLS – IN MEMORIAM



The retired President of Scripps Howard Broadcasting Co, Don Perris, passed away March 7 in Sanibel, FL. An inspiring memorial service was held in the Drury Theater of the Cleveland Play House on Friday, March 31st. Ken Lowe, President and Chief Executive Officer of the E.W. Scripps Company was the principal speaker who briefly and effectively spun dozens of stories and humorous anecdotes about his obviously beloved mentor, but never bordered on the sentimental because Don Perris wouldn’t want it that way. The other speakers – Fr. James Caddy, Robert Galloway who is Trustee of the Gates Mills Land Conservancy and grandchildren Travis and Leslie Kinsey all kept their presentations bright, upbeat and celebratory because Don (Poppa) always directed things that way. The wry sense of humor that had

been displayed by Perris throughout his 83 year lifetime was alluded to by every observer of the Perris life and times. Don was described as an extraordinarily intelligent man who cared passionately for the world he lived in—for all things in nature, for individuals who merited a helping hand and for society in general. His work for the communities he lived in and for the Gates Mills Land Conservancy District demonstrated his passion for volunteer causes that were important to him. Perris began his career with Scripps-Howard as a copy boy with the old Cleveland Press in 1943. Five years later, he moved over as one of the first newsmen at WEWS/ Newschannel 5, then known as WEWS/First in Cleveland. During his years at the station, he wore about every “behind-the-scenes” and “front-of-the-house” hat that could be placed on his brilliant head – stage hand, salesman, on camera talent, director of publicity and promotion, public service director and General Manager. In 1974, his many achievements were recognized with his promotion to President of Scripps-Howard Broadcasting. He retired in 1988, and was inducted into the first Chapter Silver Circle class of 1991. A true television pioneer, Perris is credited with being a hands-on leader who carefully orchestrated every move the station made under his guidance. He is noted for having innovated the “Morning Exchange” program in 1972—the program that introduced a new live morning show format to local television. The format was so successful that ABC network copied Cleveland’s “Morning Exchange” when they launched their first foray into that time period with “Good Morning America.” During the fourteen years Don Perris was in the driver’s seat of Scripps-Howard, the company grew by buying more television and radio stations in markets around the country and added cable systems to the group’s portfolio. The strong growth made ScrippsHoward a major player in the industry. Perris served in the U.S. Army of occupation in Japan following WWII, and although he attended Antioch College, Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota … and taught in the graduate school of Case Western Reserve University, he never received a college degree.





Linn Sheldon worked at five out of the six television stations in Cleveland during his 42 year on-camera career. He created the memorable character of “Barnaby” that dominated daytime ratings in Cleveland for a decade in the 50s and 60s and brought him national fame when Group W syndicated his show in markets from coast to coast. Sheldon died of complications from congestive heart



failure on Sunday, April 23 at his Lakewood home. He was 86. Before his fame as television’s loveable elfin host Barnaby, Sheldon worked in vaudeville, nightclubs, radio, theater and motion pictures. He was a comic who sang, danced, played unusual instruments, interviewed, performed, did stand-up as a story teller and created a multitude of characters out of his highly inventive imagination. Legend has it that his showbiz career was launched by author William Saroyan who heard Linn practicing his banjo at a Grand Canyon lodge and offered to help him get a job as a bit player at MGM Studios in Hollywood. Tom Feran’s column in the Plain Dealer recalls that Sheldon was one of the first persons to enroll in acting classes at The Cleveland Play House under the GI Bill following his discharge from the army in 1944. He was working as an emcee and nightclub comedian in Cleveland when WEWS first went on the air in 1947 and he was hired as the booth announcer to read the day’s program schedule and do station breaks. He then went on to host such shows as Charades, The Big Wheels Club and performed as the ukulele playing clown, Uncle Leslie. Sheldon worked briefly for WJKW, Channel 8 before moving over to KYW (now WKYC) to host a daily kid’s show wrapped around Popeye cartoons. Earlier, Linn had appeared as the leprechaun, Og, in a production of Finian’s Rainbow at the old Alpine Village nightclub, so he adapted that character with the pointy ears and added a battered straw hat and a wide striped jacket to create the external trappings of what was to become “Barnaby”. The apocryphal story is that Sheldon named his character “Barnaby” just as we was about to premier his new show, and a stagehand mentioned that his dog was named Barnaby. Linn latched on to the name “Barnaby” and the show went on write an impressive chapter in Cleveland TV history. It’s been said that Sheldon’s Barnaby received as many as 40,000 letters a week at the peak of popularity. Barnaby is fondly remembered for his distinctive program signoff: “if anybody calls, tell them Barnaby said ‘hello’. And

tell them that I think you are the nicest person in the whole world.” By 1968, Sheldon was ready to move on when Group W took KYW back to Philadelphia and Channel 3 reverted to being an NBC O&O with the new call letters WKYC. At that time in his career, he said he was ready to tackle programming for adults. He joined the new Kaiser UHF station WKBF, and then went on to WUAB-TV where he demonstrated his production skills by developing documentaries and public affairs programs. A year after joining WUAB, he revived Barnaby as part of a kid’s block also featuring Marty Sullivan’s Superhost that gave the fledgling U a strong identity with the children’s audience. The City Council of Cleveland issued a resolution recognizing Sheldon’s contributions to television for his high caliber, wholesome entertainment. As do many TV personalities, Sheldon endorsed and performed for many charities including reading stories to kids at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for over 20 years, and appearing at backyard carnivals to help raise funds and awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Linn Sheldon was the principal performer in more than 30 different television shows from 1948 until his retirement in 1990. He was inducted into the Silver Circle class of 1992 by The Cleveland Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences along with such notables as Fred Griffith, Hank Zbrzeski, Dick Goddard, Bill Wiedenmann and Betty Cope. In 1999 Gray and Company published his memoir “Barnaby and Me”. Even as an author titling his book, he took second billing to the character he portrayed so convincingly that he was just “Barnaby” to an appreciative public wherever he met them. Linn Sheldon left a legacy of laughter wherever he performed, but will always be remembered for his elfin Barnaby who delighted children of all ages with his songs and gentle conversations.



Paul Rae was an Emmy Award winning producer at WDHO-TV in Toledo before moving over to WKYC/TV3 in Cleveland. He served as Akron News Bureau Chief for the station from 1985 to 1991. He left Channel 3 to work as a video consultant and owned a television production company in the Akron/Fairlawn area. Paul Rae passed away on April 7th at age 57. Paul was born in Toledo where he worked in radio, television and video production before taking his production talents to such markets as Detroit; Albany, NY; Washington D.C.; and Richmond, VA.







Joe Bova started his showbiz career as a child actor with the Curtain Pullers Youth Theater at the Cleveland Play House, appeared in musicals at Cain Park Summer Theater in the 30s, acted in radio dramas on WGAR and WTAM before the advent of television, was a tap dancing song and dance man when he was just a kid, and had a Hollywood screen test in 1938 with RKO Pictures. When NBC’s Owned and Operated stations group launched WNBK-TV Channel 4 (now WKYC/TV3) in 1948, Joe was Program Director. Mr. Bova passed away on March 12th at the Actor’s Fund Retirement Home in Englewood, NJ, after spending the last 50 years of his life as a New York stage actor. Although Joe served in a management capacity at WNBK, it was not unusual in those pioneering days for TV station employees to work on both sides of the camera. When the Vice President of O&O stations WTAM and WNBK, John McCormack, decided to schedule a children’s show, he assigned Bova the job of being the host. Joe came up with a trick derby hat and a banjo as props and “Uncle Joe” started entertaining children on hundreds … maybe even a few thousand six-inch B&W picture tubes. At first, the show was seen after school because the station didn’t sign on until late afternoon, but by the early 50s it was telecast as “Noontime Comics” during the lunch hour. Bova attended Northwestern University both before and after his service during WWII. The guy standing next to Joe in the picture above is Bud Ford who was invited by Joe to come to Cleveland from Northwestern to work as a summer replacement Writer/Director at WTAM & WNBK. That picture was taken in the WNBK/WTAM studios in 1953 when he was the narrator for the premiere live musical performance of Gordon Jenkins “Manhattan Tower.” Joe appeared at the Cleveland Play House in the 50s in such plays as “Stalag 17” and “Best Foot Forward” and performed with Dom DeLuise and William Powell. DeLuise also did some guest shots on Bova’s “Noontime Comics” show.

When NBC brought Bova to NY for some developmental TV projects, he quickly made his Broadway stage debut as the prince opposite Carol Burnett’s princess in the original cast production of “Once Upon a Mattress.” He reprised the role in the 1964 TV adaptation. He played Richard III in a Shakespeare in the Park production, and was Mercurio in “Romeo and Juliet” with Martin Sheen at the same venue. In the 60s, Joe appeared in a traveling production of “Irma La Douce”. Joe loved trodding the boards in live theater, and was nominated for a Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his characterization in “The Chinese and Dr. Fish.” During the 80s, Bova played Bert Berry in Gower Champion’s revival of “42nd Street” starring Jerry Orbach and Tammy Grimes. A consummate stage actor and musical theater performer, Bova also had roles in motion pictures such as “Serpico” and TV series including “Starsky and Hutch” He did on-camera TV commercials and voice-overs for both radio and TV throughout his career.



CLEVELAND REGIONAL CHAPTER PR & WEBSITE COMMITTEE Bud Ford, Chair Karen Zolka Jennifer Boresz Terry Peterson Lorrie Taylor Marcie Price, Publisher Send your news tips, commentaries, leads, articles or suggestions to: Bud Ford, NATAS Newsletter Editor [email protected] or call: 216-767-0331 (land) 419-297-3843 (cell)