WEIU-TV receives Emmy nomination
“CSI,” “Desperate Housewives” and “30 Rock” are a few of the notable television productions that come to mind when contemplating the Emmys.
Yet, the Emmys recognize much more than prime-time entertainment.
The WEIU-TV News Watch broadcast was nominated for a Mid-America Emmy in the student news production category on Aug. 20.
That day, Kelly Runyon, news director for WEIU, had been checking the Mid-America Emmy Web site all afternoon to see if the nominations had yet been revealed.
Six months before, Runyon applied for nomination and had submitted a copy of the Sept. 8, 2008, broadcast for review.
“I remember feeling very nervous during the application process … after all, the Emmys are held in such high regard,” Runyon said. “But I just kept thinking to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful for the students if all of the hard work that they do each day was recognized on such a grand scale?'”
She said, upon seeing News Watch among the nominees, she entered a temporary state of disbelief, and was ultimately moved to tears.
Runyon said it was impossible to contain her excitement.
“I started calling everyone I could think of,” she said.
This is News Watch’s first Emmy nomination and greatest achievement to date, said Runyon, who has served as news director since December 2001.
“Even though we are the only nominee within our category, we are not certain to receive the award,” Runyon said. “If the nominees are unable to meet the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences stringent standards, then the Emmy will not be awarded to anyone.”
The students working at WEIU-TV all agree they owe a great deal of their success to their news editor.
“We couldn’t have done it without Kelly, we owe so much to her,” said Barbara Harrington, an anchor and producer of the Emmy-nominated broadcast. “She’s not your average news director, she pushes us to go above and beyond.”
It is that above and beyond that helped lead the News Watch to the Emmy nomination.
Zach Nugent’s words seemed to best express the overall attitude of the group’s nomination.
“Just to be nominated is a huge honor,” said Nugent, senior journalism major. “I think it’s something that none of us ever thought was possible … not that we don’t feel that we put out a great product, but it’s an Emmy. So, it’s just really surprising … and I think it goes to show that all the hard work and the time that we’ve been putting into this is being recognized.”
The 2009 Mid-America Emmy Gala will be held Oct. 3 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. LouiProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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Emmys are awarded to the most deserving nominees in 14 different national chapters. The Mid-America Emmys are awarded to nominees primarily from Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
A day like any other
It takes about 25 student volunteers to produce one broadcast of News Watch. For the majority of staff, Sept. 8, 2008, was a day like any other. Little did they know that this day would lead WEIU-TV to an Emmy nomination.
Barbara Harrington, junior journalism major, and Kevin Ratermann, senior communications majors, form the minority.
For them, Sept. 8, was certain to be memorable from the beginning, as the two had been assigned to cover then Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign stop in Terre Haute, Ind.
“I remember leaving the station much earlier than usual,” Ratermann said with a grin.
“When we finally arrived we had to allow all of our gear to be searched by security personnel . It seemed like forever until we were finally cleared. I’ll always hold on to that story, though, it’s not everyday you get footage of the president.”
While Avery Drake’s colleagues were capturing an important moment in U.S. politics, the junior communication studies major, was reporting on a dog fighting case in Shelby County.
Drake said 23 dogs had to be put down as a result of neglect and abuse.
“I just remember feeling very sad about the whole thing,” Drake said. “It was awful.”
Zach Nugent, senior journalism major, was also in the field that day.
“We were doing a soldier deployment over in Sullivan,” Nugent said. “The whole town had gathered to say goodbye to members of the 634th Brigade Support Battalion who were being deployed to Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, back at the station Brian Gallagher, now an alumnus, was preparing the sports report, and Kevin Jeanes, senior geography and communications major, was readying the weather forecast.
Once the film crews had returned to the station and the footage had been edited, Ratermann tended to his duties as director, and Harrington as well as Nugent prepared to go on air as co-anchors.
By 6 p.m., the broadcast was successfully completed.
WEIU-TV daily schedule
Typical preparation for the 5:30 p.m. broadcast of WEIU News Watch begins at 7 a.m. The first person to arrive at the station is the assignment editor, who is responsible for determining whom will cover each of the day’s top stories.
The film crews disperse at around 10 a.m. to begin interviewing and gathering footage. Around 3:30 p.m. the first production crews arrive; their job takes the longest. The production crew is responsible for making sure that all technical aspects of the broadcast run smoothly.
The director also arrives at around 3:30 and reads over the show, all the while checking for errors. The scripts are printed at around 4:30 p.m.. From 5 until 5:30 p.m. the crew is setting up, checking and double-checking equipment. Back in the control room the atmosphere is light, yet members of the production are careful not to drift far from the task at hand. The director begins a countdown as show time nears; ten minutes, five minutes, one minute, 30 seconds, 15, 10, 5 4 3 2 1 Roll!
Jason Hardimon can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].
