WEBVTT - Why New TV Formats Present Challenges for Awards Mavens 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:11.040 Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcast featuring conversations with 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.720 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:18.680 Cynthia Littleton, business editor of Variety Today. My guest in 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.160 New York is Adam Sharp. Adam is President and CEO 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.520 of the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences. Adam 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:29.040 runs the New York based institution that administers Emmy Awards 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:33.239 for daytime shows, news and documentary productions, sports, and for 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.720 local TV produced in markets that are organized into twenty 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:41.080 regional chapters across the country. Basically, nati's hands out Emmy's 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:44.920 everywhere but Hollywood, which remains the province of the North 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:49.519 Hollywood based Television Academy. In our conversation, Sharp discusses in 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:53.000 detail how NATAS had to adapt to changing times after 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:56.560 challenges were raised in two thousand eighteen to the fairness 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.400 of the Daytime Emmy Awards submission and judging process. How 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:04.000 NATAS responded meant coming up with clear definitions for things 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:06.760 that never had to be defined before the era of 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:10.360 technology changing television, and it also forced the Academy to 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:14.160 come up with uniform standards across its various awards groups. 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:17.880 He also talks about warming relations between NATAS and its 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:22.039 West Coast counterpart. Adam Sharp, President and CEO of the 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:25.600 National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences, Thank you so 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:28.000 much for stopping by. Of course, thank you for having 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.200 me tell us a little bit about what NATAS does. 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.480 I don't think it's profile in the broader television community 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.680 is as big as the West Coast counterpart, now called 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.440 just the Television Academy. Give us a sense of kind 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.520 of what your charter ad mission is. So the core 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:47.119 mission is to foster and recognize excellence in television in 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:51.320 all its forms, and for us, in our alignment with 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.080 our two sister academy, as you mentioned, the Television Academy 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.760 and on the West Coast that does the Primetime Emmys, 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:00.160 we have another sister academy, the International Academy of that 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:04.720 does the International Emmys. And then our Academy recognizes excellence 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:11.200 in daytime programming, sports, news and documentary programming, technology and engineering. 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:14.720 And then we also have nineteen regional chapters around the 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:18.360 country who honor excellence in local and regional programming. So 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:22.400 your local newscast coverage of local sporting events and so on, 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.400 and so it's a pretty big mandate. But between the 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.160 three academies, we try to cast a wide net to 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:34.440 recognize all the talent that's being produced and all their 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:38.000 creativity in our industry. Let's talk a little more specifically 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.200 about the Daytime Emmys. I know that you had there 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:44.959 was a controversy. There was some conflict in the two thousand. 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:49.440 After the two eighteen competition, some competitors raised some concerns 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:55.440 about eligibility issues, the the application and implementation of rules 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.080 for submissions. I don't want to go onto the rabbit 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:01.320 hole of down how much of six seconds of content 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:03.480 needed to be on screen? I know it got very 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.680 very specific, But tell me about and that was a 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.000 kind of a test for you as a leader because 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:11.400 you were the interim head at that time. Clearly you 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:13.680 passed the test because you're you got the permanent job. 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:17.600 But tell me when you had people were being sent 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:22.520 home with a toaster so um, when you had people 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.040 raising issues that you know could very clearly damage the 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.640 integrity of the award, how did what was kind of 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:34.760 your first response? I think concern certainly when I look 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.920 at our competition and I look at our award, in 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:44.280 particular UM, It's value in the marketplace and to us 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:51.120 as an organization far outstrips this in pound lump of 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:55.840 mixed alloys dipped in a very thin coat of gold. UM. 0:03:55.880 --> 0:04:00.120 And the reason why people will spend the money to 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:03.480 enter our competition, to attend our shows, to watch our shows, 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:08.160 and so on is not because of the object so 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.920 much as what it represents. And for that value to 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:17.000 be protected, the integrity of the process has to be 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:23.680 sacrisind And so there is a big perception dynamic, and 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:31.840 whether concerns are wanted or not doesn't even matter if 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:38.320 people have concerns that devalues the brand. And so that 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.400 means every question that comes up has to be treated 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:45.359 with equal seriousness uh and not dismissed out of hand. 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:49.840 And when we dug into some of the questions that 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:54.320 had been raised, UM, I think we found that many 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:59.640 aspects of our internal processes were flawed and in part 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.919 had been established at a very different time in television, 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:07.960 and that with the growing competition, with the higher number 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:12.200 of entries coming in, with the different types of media 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:17.240 and different ways of storytelling coming in, that those process 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:22.200 didn't scale well to that. And so now I look 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:26.320 back on that experience, which the stories broke my first 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.159 week as the interim CEO, so it was sort of 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.080 a be careful what you wish for or welcome to 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.760 the new job. Now I look back on that time 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:39.880 with some degree of gratitude because it gave us an 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:44.159 opportunity to really peel back the curtain and dig really 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:47.440 deep into how we operate, asked serious questions, and and 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:51.800 make fundamental changes in a much quicker, more aggressive way 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:57.159 than perhaps we would have if we didn't have that spark, 0:05:57.240 --> 0:06:00.479 that catalyst kicking it off. I had the this from 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:05.640 people questioning the validity of the process. And but even 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.080 to to your point, and without going down the rabbit 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:12.640 hole on one of the issues, one of the critical 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:16.280 questions of eligibility in one case came down to how 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:21.080 you define the word episode, because one of our rules 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:27.719 hinged on that question the number of episodes, and for 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.159 our forty five year history leading up to that point, 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:35.479 that probably was never in doubt. But now when you 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:40.520 have these different distribution mechanisms, and you have contempting package 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:45.320 differently for mobile versus the big screen, for the subscription 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:51.599 distribution versus the transactional distribution, and so on. It now 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:55.320 actually becomes a debatable point in in some cases. And 0:06:55.560 --> 0:07:02.320 while we UH didn't want to UH in subsequent year, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:06.719 this year we made a much clearer definition that was 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:11.040 more in line with the current industry. I think we 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.480 looked at that and said, well, there there is room 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:18.240 to disagree because this definition is not necessarily the same 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.600 as it was ten years ago, twenty years ago. And 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.680 you said that that the process for Daytime also kind 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.280 of made you take a hard look at your other 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.680 awards books, you know, the very phone book books. I'm 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.280 sure the rules and procedures, but kind of made you 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:36.920 look at all those in a nineteen if not lens 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.520 for how to how to interpret these things exactly. And 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:45.480 so what we found were, um, these initial questions that 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.280 were raised were obviously very specific to one entry in 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:53.400 one category in one competition, but once we started digging 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:57.320 into the foundational issues behind them, we started seeing opportunities 0:07:57.320 --> 0:08:01.680 for change across the organization. And so we have now 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.200 made a consolidated rule books so that we have a 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:08.280 certain number of core rules that are same across Daytime 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.320 Sports and News and doc whereas they were all independent before. 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:15.320 We have realigned our team so instead of having these 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:19.720 units where one team would manage both the competition and 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:27.360 the production of the show UM, where that created challenges 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.720 that you either were getting a late start on getting 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:33.439 ready for the show, or you're taking your eye off 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.800 the ball during a certain point in the competition to 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.160 go focus on the show, neither of which is a 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:41.280 good choice. We've now moved to a model where we 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:45.120 have awards administration teams for each competition and then a 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:49.040 separate production team responsible for all the shows that is 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:53.959 not involved in the awards judication. UM. We've gone through 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:57.719 and added a far more detailed glossary to all our 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:02.240 rules trying to get to those definitional points. We've created 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.040 more engagement with the community to get their feedback and involvement. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:10.199 We've started doing webinars during the competition process so people 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.360 can ask questions, and then at the end of it. 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:18.959 We are the only awards competition, at least at our level, 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:21.880 that now publishes at the end of each competition a 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:27.920 transparency report UH and in that report we identify every 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.240 bump in the road, every time someone along the way 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.920 asked for an exception to the rules or we had 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:39.160 to reinterpret something because someone says, Okay, I have this 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.439 show that's a little different that doesn't fall neatly into 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:43.880 one of these boxes, or we had to break a 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:48.679 tie or disqualified balance because of irregularities. Um. All these 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.000 types of things that used to take place completely behind 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:56.520 the curtain. UM, we now actually published so people can 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:03.520 see how these decisions happened and understand those underlying discussions 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:07.120 that led to them. Did you and so earlier this 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.000 year in the spring, was was you rolled out this process? 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:11.719 How did it? How did it go? Were there any 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:16.640 hiccups where did people? Were there any bad reactions to 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:20.160 some of the new procedures. No. I think it was 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:25.280 largely very well received. I mean certainly. Um, like with 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:29.600 any other year, we had people who had exceptions they 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:33.480 wanted that were rejected. They you had people who challenged 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:38.360 certain nominations and that where we allowed those nominations to 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:42.320 stand and then they were disappointed. UM. But I think 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:46.640 when you look through the transparency report and see the 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.400 outline of how we reached those determinations, that actually went 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.400 a long way to building community confidence and understanding in 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.120 it because it did not seem as perhaps arbitrary or 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:01.000 capricious as in years past, where the same decisions may 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.440 have been reached, but it was just some pronouncement being 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:07.120 handed down from on high, right, and they weren't articulated 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:11.600 as to the reason. And so I think by being 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:19.080 more transparent with the community, even if not everyone agrees 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:24.120 with us all the time, they at least, we hope, 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:28.280 have a greater trust in the process and the mechanism 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.800 by which the UH the decision was reached. And I 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:37.040 think culturally right now there is this greater desire across 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:40.960 all institutions, not just ours, for transparant serencies, the watch 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:45.680 words and accountability UH and and so on and and 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:52.920 perhaps the more insular nation insular form of these awards 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:56.439 shows in years past, maybe past their time. And I 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.240 think we've adapted quite well in the last year. How 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:03.000 how do you guys handle the final judging process of 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.040 like say, the daytime Emmy Awards. Is it's people in 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.600 a room watching video or do you do it online? 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.720 Now there's been you know, there's been a big sea 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.480 change in the in the whole process of final judging 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.480 for big awards is in the last couple of years. 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.480 And this is an area where we are a little 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.720 bit different than a lot of shows. Um. Every one 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:29.040 of our categories are done by panels of judges. So unlike, 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:32.240 for example, the Primetime Emmys or or the Oscars, where 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:36.160 a ballot will go out to a the entire community 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:40.160 to vote and you'll see for your consideration campaigns and 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:44.240 screeners and so and so forth, for us, the termination 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.640 is made by a small group of of judges uh 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.600 usually anywhere from fifty depending on how big the category is, 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:58.319 who watched the entries online and vote online and are 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:02.360 required to watch every entry in its entirety. In fact, 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.679 they are not. The button doesn't light up for them 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:07.959 submit their ballot until the player can detect that they 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.320 have watched it through. And we think that gives a 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:14.320 real opportunity for new players in the space, in particular 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:19.480 because a independent producer submitting for the first time going 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.920 up against a industry lion who has been in the 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:26.360 competition for years, are going to get the same fair 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:30.080 shake from the judges. Do you use that same process 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.160 for the News and Sports Emmy Awards as well? Yes, 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.680 So our process for all three of our shows is 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:40.440 the same daytime Sports and News and Documentary, so they 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.000 are all fully online with the exception of a couple 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.800 of categories that do live judging largely for technical reasons. 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:51.560 So categories that have a large amount of VR or 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:55.360 are content now will do that in person and invite 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.520 the producers to come in so that they can specify 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.320 the hardware its being ex lancet on and make sure 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.280 that their content is being seen in the best light. 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:07.560 For some animation categories, uh, we let people bring in 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.319 their story boards and everything else, so there's more of 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.360 a tactile part of that. But for the vast majority 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.320 of our categories, across all the competitions, it is that 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:22.240 panel judging online with substantial or hundred percent play through 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.040 required and how do you how do you assemble the 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:29.840 judging panels. So that's probably one of the biggest challenges 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:35.040 of our team. If you look across our three competitions, 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.560 there's close to two thousand judges recruited every year, and 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:43.600 we are looking for expertise in a particular area that 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:47.560 they're going to judge, so working professionals who work in 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.520 that field. So if this is an acting category, other actors, 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:56.120 if it is a editing category, other editors. But then 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.280 on the flip side, you want to avoid conflicts of interest, 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:01.960 so you can be judging something you worked on or 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:06.560 your show, and so that winds up sometimes going outside 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.640 our immediate community. So you'll see people who work in 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:14.040 primetime television voting in in daytime, some people in sports 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:18.040 voting in news, and vice versa, if that particular craft 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:24.080 is somewhat similar between the disciplines. UH. This year, in 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.680 some of our daytime categories, we made a partnership with 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.800 our friends on the West Coast of Television Academy so 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:34.760 that those categories will be exclusively judged by Academy members 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.040 and we'll be working with them to recruit judges for 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:43.400 that gotcha. Um, What for the last couple of years, 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:45.600 for a bunch of years, certainly predating your tenure, the 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.720 Daytime Emmys have been a TV awards show that has 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:53.160 not been on old fashioned TV, linear TV anyway in 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:57.040 a live format as as we're so used to award shows, 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.720 and as the Daytime Emmy's aired for years, what is 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.080 the turtle to getting it to getting a TV deal 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:03.760 because it has been a live stream in the last 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:08.120 couple of years. Well, I think firstly the historical piece, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:12.480 and then I'll talk about where we are today. If 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.920 you look back at the Daytime Emmys in early nineties, 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:19.880 you had many more soap operas on the air. That 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:24.360 was the main focus of the telecast itself. But more importantly, 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.280 you had a greater percentage of daytime programming on the 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:32.000 networks actually owned by the networks. When a lot of 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.840 those soaps went away on most stations that time got 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:39.840 replaced by syndicated programming, and so Back in the day, 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:44.680 the networks were all very motivated to carry the broadcast 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:49.200 because it was promoting their own programming. Now the bulk 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.680 of the programming that's being honored is not produced by 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:54.960 those networks. It's being produced by syndicators and so on, 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.480 so there's a little bit less of that interest. In 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.160 the last few years we have I've gone to where 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.400 the audience has been going, by and large, getting more 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:07.840 and more of their content online. Uh last year in 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.600 streaming on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, in our website, we had 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.240 about two million unique viewers, which is still just a 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:18.639 fraction of what you would see for the Oscars, the 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.399 Primetime Emmys, or or Globes, for example, but it also 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:27.800 made us the only major awards show to actually be 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.320 posting audience growth year over year for the last three years, 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.000 and so we we do see a positive trend in 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.800 that area where fans do want to tune into it 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.760 and are finding it. And I think next year you 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:46.480 will see some new investments from us to make the 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:51.600 show more accessible and are continuing conversations about if there 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.160 are aspects of the weekend. We're now a three night 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:58.400 event that can get on broadcast television, and so at 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:04.240 this point I am very confident that come June, you 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:07.000 will be able to watch some, if not all, of 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:11.800 the time Emmys on a television set in your living room. 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:14.520 But but it's still still streamed or do you Are 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:16.120 you saying that you feel like that there's a good 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.040 chance that you will have a more traditional license deal 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:24.120 with an outlet. We are continuing car stations with networks 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:30.040 and looking at O T T opportunities. Um, but where 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.400 we said right now, all we can say is that 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.600 by June, we're pretty confident you'll be able to watch 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.439 it on the TV sett in your living room. For 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:40.600 as long as I have been covering television, which is 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.879 a long time, there has been speculation about an eventual 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:48.680 reunification of the New York based National Academy of Television 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:53.000 Arts and Sciences and the North Hollywood based Television Academy. 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.240 Do you see any potential for that on the horizon. 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:58.280 It sounds like the two organizations are working together more, 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:02.200 which when I first it was the level of hostility 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.240 between these the two groups was. They didn't even try 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.560 to hide it. It seems like a much more cordial environment. 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:09.960 But is there anything that would that you see on 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.760 the horizon that could bring you together or do you 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:16.359 like the set up as it stands now? Well? I 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:20.639 don't think anyone is talking right now about the reunification 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:24.439 of the organizations and sort of that corporate sense, but 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:31.119 there is certainly a reunification of mission and purpose that 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:35.640 is well underway and something that is a departure from 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:39.080 some of those troubles of of the past. I was 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.960 just out in l A last week and spent the 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:46.600 majority of the time with counterparts from the Television Academy. 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:51.919 We coordinate on this year's Daytime Emmys, in assembling our 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.520 judging panels and so on. We coordinated on some of 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.639 the category adjustments and changes we made in this year's competition, 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:04.160 even making some tweaks to what programs fall under prime 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.320 time or daytime now that the clock isn't as clear 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:11.440 a predictor of that as it as it used to be, 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:17.800 and so I think we still have pre clearly defined 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:26.480 lanes and news, sports, primetime, daytime, etcetera. And there's certainly 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.520 more than enough work to go around. But the fact 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:35.840 that we are talking and collaborating and marching forward on 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:40.119 several different initiatives I think is very positive for the 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:43.480 relationship and for the community. Well, we will stay tuned 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:45.680 on that. Thank you, Thank you so much before I 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:47.480 let you go tell me, because I do want to 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:52.160 recognize that NATUS does represent a lot of television production 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:56.080 that happens in local markets from the Midwest to the Southwest. 0:20:56.160 --> 0:20:58.840 And again, as I said, basically, there's maybe a thirty 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:01.480 mile radius around North Hollywood where you are not allowed 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:05.000 to give an award. But beyond that, what is in 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.560 the last year, So what what is one of the 0:21:07.640 --> 0:21:10.359 coolest pieces of content, whether it was a news report 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:14.840 or sports or entertainment, something really that impressed you, that 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:18.840 came out of the truly grassroots, the local local market. 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:23.120 Anything stand out to you. Oh wow, there is so 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.560 much to to pick from, and I get to go 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:31.280 to a lot of the chapter galas and their award shows, 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:34.360 and every time I go to one, I come away saying, 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.119 oh my goodness, that was better than the last and 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:41.639 look at that that segment. I think, rather than one 0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:46.440 specific piece, what I will say I continue to be 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:52.080 reminded of and impressed by is the role our TV 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:55.320 stations and TV producers. And this is not just local 0:21:55.359 --> 0:22:00.080 but nationalists will play in our communities and day the 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:04.359 life and on the national level that is the evening 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.680 news and having the soap on during the day, and 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:12.439 the programming we honor is rather intimate because for the 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.679 most part we're honoring is not that lean back with 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:18.639 the bucket of popcorn on the couch, but it is 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:23.040 what you have on at the dinner table. It is 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:25.520 what you have on on the kitchen counter. It's when 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:27.480 in the morning when you're trying to decide what to 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:30.040 wear exactly, it's telling you are you going to need 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:33.320 an umbrella? Are you going to have to evacuate? Are 0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:37.480 your kids going to a good school. Most Americans start 0:22:37.600 --> 0:22:40.240 their day watching one of our members and end their 0:22:40.320 --> 0:22:43.280 day watching one of our our members. And so when 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:47.400 I go to our regional Galas. What always impresses me 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:53.480 is the deep community connection of our members there and 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:59.520 of these local news organizations where particularly in times of 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:06.240 christ Us when you see a hurricane or a tornado, 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:10.000 or not too long ago, I was at our Northwest 0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:14.560 Chapter Emmy's and one of their Golden Silver Circle honorees 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:19.320 who this is essentially our hall of fame. The Golden 0:23:19.320 --> 0:23:22.680 Slover Circle are for recognizing fifty or twenty five years 0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:26.840 respectively of work in our industry. And one of the 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:30.160 honorees was an anchor from Alaska who had really been 0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:34.360 a clear source of comfort and leadership in the community 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:38.720 in the wake of horrible earthquake up there last year 0:23:39.040 --> 0:23:42.360 that had hit while he and his co anchors were 0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:45.439 on the air. Um and this was an anchor I 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:49.240 had known as a reporter early in my career down 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:53.720 in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and we that night 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:57.200 had this conversation about now is being through now two 0:23:57.200 --> 0:24:01.320 of these experiences of the role of the local broadcaster 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:07.600 in being that voice of both comfort and factual life 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:12.080 SA saving information in times of crisis. And so, while 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:15.359 not one piece specifically, I think that is a theme 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:17.280 that every time I go to one of our chapters, 0:24:17.400 --> 0:24:21.640 I'm reminded by how important that connection to the viewer 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:24.120 in the community is, and the importance of that urgency 0:24:24.280 --> 0:24:29.359 cannot be overstated. That the importance of people turning to 0:24:29.440 --> 0:24:32.480 television when the weather is going crazy, when you don't 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:34.720 know why sirens are going off on the black the 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:38.600 fact that people turn to broadcast TV or even radio 0:24:38.800 --> 0:24:42.480 nowadays is still it's still got that that that that 0:24:42.720 --> 0:24:45.400 bond that you have just grown up with. You would 0:24:45.480 --> 0:24:47.959 never turn to Netflix to try to know what you know, 0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:50.840 to know what is blowing through your neighborhood in a 0:24:50.960 --> 0:24:55.800 in a hurricane exactly. And in the world of fake news, disinformation, misinformation, 0:24:55.920 --> 0:25:00.159 so and so far um, there is a lot of 0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:03.159 click bait out there that can be fun to click on, 0:25:03.240 --> 0:25:06.680 fund to read, so on and so forth. But when 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:09.199 you need to know do I need to grab the 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:11.480 go bag and get out of my house or pick 0:25:11.560 --> 0:25:14.400 up the kids because something horrible has happened, you know 0:25:14.560 --> 0:25:18.800 you want that person who is standing out there on 0:25:18.880 --> 0:25:22.560 your street on the cell phone to the mayor's office 0:25:22.840 --> 0:25:27.359 with FEMA on hold to get you that information you 0:25:27.400 --> 0:25:31.080 need in real real time. A very distinguished gim once 0:25:31.119 --> 0:25:33.760 told me that all television is local, and I think 0:25:33.760 --> 0:25:36.119 that is true. Adam Sharp, thank you so much for 0:25:36.119 --> 0:25:41.600 your time, Thank you, thanks for listening. Be sure to 0:25:41.640 --> 0:25:44.440 tune in next week for another episode of Strictly Business.