WKYU-PBS Receives Record Number of Emmy Awards WKYU-PBS, WKU’s Public Television service, received a station record four Emmy awards Saturday night at the 46th Annual Ohio Valley Emmy Awards Ceremony in Columbus, Ohio. WKYU-PBS was nominated for six awards in six categories (also a station record). This marks the sixth consecutive year that WKYU-PBS has received nominations, receiving the coveted award nine times. Director of Educational Telecommunications, Jack Hanes, adds, “We are extremely proud of the quality television that our staff produces here at WKYU-PBS. Viewers in South Central Kentucky get to experience this quality on a regular basis; and it’s nice to have our peers in the television industry recognize it as well.” “All of our WKYU staff are committed to excellence,” stated Dr. Bob Owen, Vice-President of Information Technology at WKU. “These awards affirm WKYU’s presence among the nation’s PBS stations as a leader in educational television.” WKYU-PBS received awards in four categories. One category was a television program category and three others were in professional categories. All of the awards this year were in recognition of work on two programs related to Mammoth Cave National Park. Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder and the companion program, Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder (Behind the Scenes Stories and More) were the first High Definition program offerings from WKYU-PBS and Western Kentucky University. Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder focuses on history, science, the arts, and human stories of the land that has become a national park. WKYU-PBS’s crew conducted 12 interviews and traveled to the park 40 times over 13 months to shoot above and below ground. The program first aired in October 2009 as a complementary piece to the six-episode Ken Burns film, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. WKYU-PBS is now marketing Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder to other outlets across the country, and it is available as a sales item benefiting the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park and the station.
“The park and WKYU-PBS have worked together for more than 15 years, doing
short pieces about the research and activities at Mammoth Cave,” said
Public Information Officer Vickie Carson. “On Mammoth Cave: A Way to
Wonder, I coordinated locations and park staff–who played an integral role
in the project–and accompanied the crew on almost every shoot, including
down ropes, on the river, and off-trail in the backcountry. We approached
each shoot with a plan in mind, and every time the result exceeded our
expectations. Mammoth Cave is a beautiful place and the high definition
footage captures its every detail.”
The Program Category recipient: "Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder is about stories of exploration and we were privileged to be able bring those to our audience in this documentary. These Emmy awards are the culmination of a wonderful partnership between WKYU-PBS and Mammoth Cave National Park”, stated Cheryl Beckley, Producer of Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder. “This pair of programs represents the sum total of a complete team effort. All of the staff, students and university family share responsibility for the success of these efforts. This also further cements the understanding that WKU students train in the best environment possible to help ensure their career success. WKU has demonstrated an unparalleled dedication to student success and we are thrilled, as professionals, to get to work with the future leaders of our industry”, stated David Brinkley, Senior Producer/Director for WKYU-PBS.
The Professional Category recipients: Videographer - Program “WKYU-PBS has dedicated resources to make sure that we can be industry leaders. We are thrilled to be able to demonstrate such a significant return in their investment. It has been an honor to also represent WKU for several years now. This project was a unique challenge that required months of effort and I am honored to have worked alongside such talented people”, Brinkley stated. Editor - Program “Editing Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder was as much fun as I’ve ever had with a project, the visuals were superb and the show came together quickly. It’s great to be recognized for something that I love doing, I have the best job in the world”, adds Beckley. Set Design, Lighting & Technical Achievement “We are thrilled to be able to showcase important television programs and people from our area in this manner. It is an even greater privilege to do it as an employee of WKYU-PBS and WKU”, added Brinkley. “This was undoubtedly the most difficult project that I have ever worked on related to television lighting. This ecologically sensitive environment required a great amount of specialized preparation on our part. It is an honor to be recognized for this effort.” The Emmy Award, also known as the “Emmy” is the highest award given in the television industry and it considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), Grammy Awards (for music) and Tony Awards (for stage). Now, the Ohio Valley chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has members in 25 television markets (including Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, and Charleston) across 4 states (Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia) and continues to recognize not only the best in local news, weather, and sports, but they have grown to celebrate accomplishments in writing, editing, children’s programming, documentaries, student productions, art design, and new media.
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