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Montery, Fresno, Sacramento, Reno memories

Day Four: Reno

The adventure continues with the 11am Amtrak train to Reno.
Everyone was right, it's a beautiful way to travel, and this
must be one of the most scenic routes.
Of course as everyone told me, the train was late.
Vice President Terri Russell picked me up and off we went to Sparks for the
last stop of the road trip.
It was a small but enthusiastic group who asked a lot of questions
about the emmy process. They are quite comfortable consulting
with Terri and look to her for advice on their work.
NATAS is extremely lucky to have such a dedicated point person
in Reno.

Again there was a request from a cameraperson for a panel on
upgrading your camerawork and editing.
Terri suggested we entice someone with a free hotel and ski
package to work with the local photogs.
Best tip of the evening... wwww.photogslounge.net
This was the only region that was more interested in viewing
the programming section of the Winners Reel rather than the
News section. A lot of attention was paid to the craft and
subject matter in an effort to convince everyone that they too
could compete. Not every entry screams out big budget, much
is about telling a compelling story and having good imagination.

Terri would like to remind us of the fundraising opportunities
that exist with the local casinos. There is a lot of money directed
here every year into enticing Bay Area Tourist dollars to Reno.
I'm sure they would be happy to buy a program ad and who knows what
else.

Alas, I received a surprise bonus afternoon in Reno as the train
scheduled in at 9am is now supposed to chug in sometime around 5:30p.
Stay tuned.

Day Three: Sacramento

Hwy 99 to 160 to 80 back to 99 and somehow
found my hotel in Sacramento.
Arrived with one hour to spare before driving over
to Fox40/KTXL.
Did i mention how much i love my GPS ? !
Governor Thomas Drayton arranged
for my 3pm visit in the middle of the newsroom and
even ran out for pizza.
We set up the Emmy statues and
NATAS brochures on his desk. Great turnout.

The biggest surprise was seeing Greg Saunders,
former Promotions Director at KGO,
now the Creative Services Director at KTXL.
The News Director and General Manager showed
up in the middle of their busy days to say hi.
NATAS clearly has a good reputation, probably
thanks to President Dave's visit last year.

There was a lot of questions about the DVD
rules and the mid-career grants. They jokingly
expressed concern that i'm running around to
other stations and spreading the word too far about
this little known grant.
Of course the newsroom already knew about the
Thomas F Drayton Minority Scholarship for Reporting.

Stacey Owen from the ABC station called my
cell sending her regrets for being too busy to
stop by. The only time her station had available
was the same 3pm slot taken by FOX40.

Back to the hotel for the free nacho snacks,
then on to Univision 19, KUVS, hosted by Governor
Alberto Garcia who ordered pizza.
Turns out someone else ordered pizza.
There was lots and lots of pizza.
The evening turned into a seminar on how to
win an emmy. One of the producers recently
transfered from Los Angeles where they routinely
win 7-8 Emmys. There is a lot of enthusiasm at
this station for this years Emmys. Two people
gave me membership checks and by the end of the
evening all the membership brochures were gone.

A couple of people asked if they need to produce
english translation dubs. It's a real burden that
isn't necessary with spanish speaking judges.
People took notes on the deadline, DVD rules,
and asked dozens of questions about everyting i
could think of to increase their chances of getting
an emmy. We watched about 6 News category
stories from the 2005/2006 Winners Reel.
As with the other Univision stations they all said
they would like to help judge spanish language entries.
Everyone now knows who Javier Valencia is.
And Samuel Belilty. Alberto will be responsible
for gathering all the Univision DVD entries.

A big thank you to Thomas for setting up all the
appointments and fielding all the local inquiries.
Stacey was clearly impressed getting a call from him.

I never want to see pizza again.












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Day Two: Fresno

Fresno reminds me a lot of Los Angeles. It's deceptively large with lots of different neighborhoods spread out everywhere. The people i've encountered make me feel at home, a real midwest friendly nature. However, I would still be driving in circles if it wasn't for my beloved GPS.

Doing web research i came upon the Tower District of Fresno. An entire district filled with restored buildings. The Starbucks was packed on a monday afternoon.
So where is everyone else, besides at work ? At the mall. Lots and lots of spanking new malls filled with recreational shoppers. Enough of the culture, back to work....

I drove over to KFSN to see Tracey Watkowski but she was stuck in meetings all day with the GM. The meeting continued into dinner time so we missed her at the evening event. I spoke with her later in the evening and told her about the many NATAS brochures left for her and the new Emmy rules. Luckily she has Nancy in house for any Emmy questions.

NATAS governors Nancy Osborne & Samuel Belilty hosted the road trip at the local Univision, KFTV-21. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to view the Emmy entries. Samuel requested vhs dubs so he can set up another Fresno viewing. There was a lot of interest in Emmy entry category placement assistance. And I expect more competition for those mid-career grants next year. The Fresno group did not have the same concerns about Spanish language judging as Monterey. They felt everyone should be judged with their peers, regardless of ethnicity. We went over the various perks of membership. Luckily the Fresno Cinema Club chair was in attendance to explain the way the screenings work. His current problem is that the rsvp line if a 415 area code. Hopefully he can arrange an email RSVP system. One cameraperson requested we do a seminar with an editor and shooter. Enough of the how to be a reporter classes, what about the creatives.
Word is that the Univision station is planning to relocate and build a brand new facility in a much nicer area right next to a WalMart.
Once again, everyone was so friendly i can't wait to return.

Day One: Monterey

ROAD TRIP PART ONE: MONTEREY

Univision, KSMS-TV 67:
Nice turnout of mostly Univision folks, Salinas too far
to travel with traffic i hear.
I will have to make a separate visit to Salinas.
The Univision Station looks like a friggin ski lodge, absolutely
gorgeous, in wooded area, only missing the flakey white stuff.
Had a long chat w the GM,Aaron Scoby, great guy, had some insight into
why they didn't want to host my visit.
He used to work in Fresno for over 10 yrs.
He had already read his Dec Off Camera. Kept talking about the
big STAR event next thurs in SF that he always attends.
Giant party for tv salespeople & GMs.
The News Director, Fidel Soto,was also wonderful.
One attendee used to work with Mitch Turner,
now a KGO media Mgr.
We watched most of Programming & News vhs tapes.
The GM requested samples of small market winning emmy entries.

Everyone loved Andres Prunas winning "Monterey Aquarium" story from
his Latin Eyes entry. They didn't know that the show featured their
Public Affairs person who is also an Aquarium guide.
Got one membership check in hand.
One potential board member.
Lots of questions about spanish language judging.
They feel the judges should not only speak spanish, but should work
for spanish language stations.
Some interest in regional latin emmys.
They also wanted to see more small market categories, such as
"investigative" small market for example.

I know other small markets don't agree with this, they want to
compete with the big guys.
A couple of people complained that they don't have the same resources
as the bigger markets so they can't complete with people who get to
fly off to South America to investigate murders.
In my opinion there are enough categories where content is more important
than budget, but i feel their pain. I often get half a day to edit
a story that I used to have two full days to work on.
Major interest in the list of contact names for emmy entry advice/ questions.
Pizza was pretty good, someone took one of the sample emmy programs.
Still have all three emmy statues.
I'd say it was a success.
Thank you Darryl for the Road Show Travel Kit, it was all there.
Extra special thanks to Tamar for setting everything up.