Emmys and those that don't deserve it

[nonewsgoodnews]

Congrats to those who were nominated for an Emmy. I know people have different opinions on Emmy's and their worth but I think when people put their own money up to pay for them, they should still get accolades when they are nominated.
It looks like the Bally's bankruptcy stuff affected their entries. I am guessing that was one of the things to go for the bottom line as I believe Bally's was the only one who still paid for all of their employees entries and used to enter a ton.

The one thing I don't agree with nor will ever understand is why News Directors names are on stories. It's one thing for News Excellence or maybe even a special or newscast if they produced it. But if the news director puts their name on as added name on a story-- it seems sketchy to me. A perfect example is why Jayne Hodak's name is on a David Custer piece when he posted on his Facebook that she proofed the script, fought with attorney's to allow story to run and strategized with him in the best way to tell the story---- hmmm does that sound Emmy worthy? No, it's her job. Seems sleazy and grasping to get an Emmy when she didn't earn it herself. David's work earns him Emmy's all the time. Talk about hopping on his coat tails for this one.

David's Facebook post.

I’m honored to be recognized with three of my station’s six regional Emmy nominations this year. Our team produced some great stories. It’s nice to be acknowledged by your peers in different parts of the country.
I want to take you behind the curtain and share a little backstory with all of you. We faced several challenges with one of my stories. I was almost ready to throw in the towel. It took several months to bring it to air.
A story can often be a lengthy journey of discovery. It usually starts with a question or an observation, and then you slowly begin to weave your web. You start connecting all the dots and finding the key players. Once you do, you hope and pray they would be willing to sit down with you on camera. You can't tell a compelling story without them.
It took me several months to encourage a family member to be brave and trust me to be vulnerable by sharing his story. He had never publicly talked about what happened. It took me going back to the Sheriff Chris Swanson more than once to do an interview because I had more questions the deeper I got into the story. They weren’t easy questions and I had to “call him out” about how things were perceived. He answered my questions from an honest place. He said was willing to play ball cause he trusts me and knows he makes every decision from his heart. I had to sort through court cases and make sure I wasn’t missing something. When I confidently felt I had all of my ducks in a row, I sat down at the keyboard and began to write.
Meg and I have a different process. I write my stories in the newsroom with all the background noise and chatter. She likes to be in the quiet of her own home with a warm cup of tea free of distractions. Not me, I like the chaos around me. I’ll toss things out to her, Elisse and my producers, asking them to help me with a word or a phrase I am thinking of when it doesn’t come to mind. I like to feed off the brilliant minds and energy around me.
Once I had my first draft, I sent it off to my news director, Jayne. In this case, she and I were confident the first draft told the story we set out to tell. However, our legal team had some concerns. They raised several red flags. The journalists in us went toe-to-toe fighting for the story. We understood where each side was coming from and agreed to make some changes. We survived round one.
I made some tweaks, and we met again to go over our second draft. We were red-lined in several areas. This is when I felt really discouraged. I thought after all these months, this story was dead in the water. However, my news director didn’t feel the same way. She felt this story needed to be told. She was standing taller than me after round two and wasn’t giving up on my ability.
We strategized and took a different approach to how I was telling this story. I completely rewrote the story from top to bottom. My ego was slightly bruised, but I focused on the story and why it was important to tell it. I went back to the keyboard and started over. I cranked out another draft and sent it off. Much to my surprise, it was cleared for take-off without any red flags.
Then, the grueling editing process began. I knew we had to be so careful and scrutinize ourselves after all we went through to get the story off the ground. That’s where the genius that is my editor Michelle got to work and carefully crafted a visual story. We collaborated on why we should or shouldn’t use an effect or piece of video. Her attention to detail is unmatched. Any time she questioned something, we mutually agreed that if we had to ask the question, then the safe bet was to omit it.
When it was time to hit the air, my nerves were bundled up so tightly that I looked like the Tinman walking without his oil can. I had to work closely with the show producer about every tease and piece of video we used leading up to the story. We worked together to write an intro to the story that we hoped would draw you the viewer in, but also didn’t give too much away. The minute I said that last line before the story began to play, my heart stopped until I saw and heard it on the monitor in front of me in the studio.
Once my heart began beating again… for me… I don’t rest until I hear from everyone in the story. I need to know that I lived up to my end of the bargain. My reputation and the trust I have built are what’s most important to me. How the people in my stories feel or react, are the most important in the moments shortly after it airs.
I take a lot of punches being a public figure. Some people make up their own stories about the things they think I say or do or my motives. It happens with every aspect of being in a cut-throat industry and being on TV. I know who I am and I know what matters. It took a while to get here, but I guess that’s one of the perks of being in your 40’s.
This platform is a privilege to me. I never take it for granted. It’s a vehicle for me to tell stories that can change someone’s life, hold someone accountable or give someone hope that can’t see their way out of the dark.
I love to write. I love to shoot video. I love to marry those two things and tell stories. That’s what matters to me more than anything. Thank you Michigan EMMY Chapter - NATAS and my peers for acknowledging my work and the work of my colleagues.
Congratulations to all those who are nominated and good luck next month!

[Graham Wellington]

Congrats to those who were nominated for an Emmy. I know people have different opinions on Emmy's and their worth but I think when people put their own money up to pay for them, they should still get accolades when they are nominated.
It looks like the Bally's bankruptcy stuff affected their entries. I am guessing that was one of the things to go for the bottom line as I believe Bally's was the only one who still paid for all of their employees entries and used to enter a ton.

The one thing I don't agree with nor will ever understand is why News Directors names are on stories. It's one thing for News Excellence or maybe even a special or newscast if they produced it. But if the news director puts their name on as added name on a story-- it seems sketchy to me. A perfect example is why Jayne Hodak's name is on a David Custer piece when he posted on his Facebook that she proofed the script, fought with attorney's to allow story to run and strategized with him in the best way to tell the story---- hmmm does that sound Emmy worthy? No, it's her job. Seems sleazy and grasping to get an Emmy when she didn't earn it herself. David's work earns him Emmy's all the time. Talk about hopping on his coat tails for this one.

David's Facebook post.

I’m honored to be recognized with three of my station’s six regional Emmy nominations this year. Our team produced some great stories. It’s nice to be acknowledged by your peers in different parts of the country.
I want to take you behind the curtain and share a little backstory with all of you. We faced several challenges with one of my stories. I was almost ready to throw in the towel. It took several months to bring it to air.
A story can often be a lengthy journey of discovery. It usually starts with a question or an observation, and then you slowly begin to weave your web. You start connecting all the dots and finding the key players. Once you do, you hope and pray they would be willing to sit down with you on camera. You can't tell a compelling story without them.
It took me several months to encourage a family member to be brave and trust me to be vulnerable by sharing his story. He had never publicly talked about what happened. It took me going back to the Sheriff Chris Swanson more than once to do an interview because I had more questions the deeper I got into the story. They weren’t easy questions and I had to “call him out” about how things were perceived. He answered my questions from an honest place. He said was willing to play ball cause he trusts me and knows he makes every decision from his heart. I had to sort through court cases and make sure I wasn’t missing something. When I confidently felt I had all of my ducks in a row, I sat down at the keyboard and began to write.
Meg and I have a different process. I write my stories in the newsroom with all the background noise and chatter. She likes to be in the quiet of her own home with a warm cup of tea free of distractions. Not me, I like the chaos around me. I’ll toss things out to her, Elisse and my producers, asking them to help me with a word or a phrase I am thinking of when it doesn’t come to mind. I like to feed off the brilliant minds and energy around me.
Once I had my first draft, I sent it off to my news director, Jayne. In this case, she and I were confident the first draft told the story we set out to tell. However, our legal team had some concerns. They raised several red flags. The journalists in us went toe-to-toe fighting for the story. We understood where each side was coming from and agreed to make some changes. We survived round one.
I made some tweaks, and we met again to go over our second draft. We were red-lined in several areas. This is when I felt really discouraged. I thought after all these months, this story was dead in the water. However, my news director didn’t feel the same way. She felt this story needed to be told. She was standing taller than me after round two and wasn’t giving up on my ability.
We strategized and took a different approach to how I was telling this story. I completely rewrote the story from top to bottom. My ego was slightly bruised, but I focused on the story and why it was important to tell it. I went back to the keyboard and started over. I cranked out another draft and sent it off. Much to my surprise, it was cleared for take-off without any red flags.
Then, the grueling editing process began. I knew we had to be so careful and scrutinize ourselves after all we went through to get the story off the ground. That’s where the genius that is my editor Michelle got to work and carefully crafted a visual story. We collaborated on why we should or shouldn’t use an effect or piece of video. Her attention to detail is unmatched. Any time she questioned something, we mutually agreed that if we had to ask the question, then the safe bet was to omit it.
When it was time to hit the air, my nerves were bundled up so tightly that I looked like the Tinman walking without his oil can. I had to work closely with the show producer about every tease and piece of video we used leading up to the story. We worked together to write an intro to the story that we hoped would draw you the viewer in, but also didn’t give too much away. The minute I said that last line before the story began to play, my heart stopped until I saw and heard it on the monitor in front of me in the studio.
Once my heart began beating again… for me… I don’t rest until I hear from everyone in the story. I need to know that I lived up to my end of the bargain. My reputation and the trust I have built are what’s most important to me. How the people in my stories feel or react, are the most important in the moments shortly after it airs.
I take a lot of punches being a public figure. Some people make up their own stories about the things they think I say or do or my motives. It happens with every aspect of being in a cut-throat industry and being on TV. I know who I am and I know what matters. It took a while to get here, but I guess that’s one of the perks of being in your 40’s.
This platform is a privilege to me. I never take it for granted. It’s a vehicle for me to tell stories that can change someone’s life, hold someone accountable or give someone hope that can’t see their way out of the dark.
I love to write. I love to shoot video. I love to marry those two things and tell stories. That’s what matters to me more than anything. Thank you Michigan EMMY Chapter - NATAS and my peers for acknowledging my work and the work of my colleagues.
Congratulations to all those who are nominated and good luck next month!

TL;DR I'm a bitter former employee