Western Reserve Public Media Receives Emmy Nominations

News Release

KENT, Ohio — May 7, 2010 — Western Reserve Public Media, which operates the TV channels WNEO and WEAO, has received four 2009 regional Emmy nominations from the Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The nominations include two for the station’s production Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park and one each for Gospel Meets Symphony: Let Freedom Ring! and It’s Close at the Akron Art Museum.

Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a one-hour production that tells the story of Ohio’s only national park through high-definition video and the voices of people from all walks of life. It premiered on Western Reserve PBS on Sept. 27, 2009, as a companion piece to Ken Burns’ six-part national parks documentary series. Generations received Emmy nominations for Crafts: Editor and Crafts: Photographer.

Gospel Meets Symphony: Let Freedom Ring! captures the Feb. 7, 2009, performance of Gospel Meets Symphony, a combination of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the 200-voice volunteer choir from over 50 area churches. The half-hour program, which premiered on Western Reserve PBS on April 6, 2009, documents the concert that celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday. It received an Emmy nomination for Crafts: Director.

It’s Close at the Akron Art Museum features the Akron Art Museum and its exhibition “Familiar Faces: Chuck Close in Ohio Collections,” which brought together 37 of the artist’s works from both public and private collections around the state. The half-hour program features exhibit footage and interviews with Chuck Close, his associates and some of the private collectors of his work. The program premiered on Western Reserve PBS on Oct. 18, 2009, and received an Emmy nomination for Arts/Entertainment Program.

Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park and It’s Close at the Akron Art Museum can be viewed free of charge on Western Reserve Public Media’s website at westernreservepbs.org.

In addition to the Western Reserve Public Media productions, also receiving regional Emmy nominations were several independent productions that premiered on Western Reserve PBS. Storytellers Media Group, Ltd., based in Lakewood, received nominations for new episodes of its Doris O’Donnell’s Cleveland series in the categories of Arts/Entertainment Program, Nostalgia Program and Crafts: Musical Composition/Arrangement. Turn Blue: The Short Life of Ghoulardi, produced by University of Akron professor Phil Hoffman, received four nominations: three in the Crafts category for research, directing and editing, plus one in the Nostalgia Program category. Final Edition: Journalism According to Jack and Jim Knight, produced and written by Paul R. Jacoway Productions and Kathleen Endres, professor at The University of Akron, received a nomination for Nostalgia Program.

“All of us at Western Reserve Public Media are thrilled and grateful to the Academy for our four nominations,” said Trina Cutter, Western Reserve Public Media CEO and president. “The Generations production in particular was a labor of love for our organization and we’re proud to see its quality recognized. We also congratulate the independent producers whose works have been nominated. It continues to be an important part of our mission to showcase northeast Ohio’s best local and regional productions.”

Award winners will be announced at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards Ceremony on Saturday, June 19, at the Cleveland Hilton Garden Inn. For more information about Western Reserve Public Media’s programs and services, call 1-800-554-4549 or visit westernreservepbs.org.

About Western Reserve Public Media
Western Reserve Public Media (formerly PBS 45 & 49) is owned and operated by Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc., a private, nonprofit corporation and consortium of Kent State University, The University of Akron and Youngstown State University. A trusted community resource, Western Reserve Public Media uses the power of commercial-free television and related services to enrich the lives of people through high-quality programming and educational services that teach, illuminate and inspire.

Western Reserve PBS, a service of the organization, is the only broadcast television service that reaches all of northeast Ohio. It is available to 1.8 million households and 4.4 million people in the Cleveland and Youngstown designated market areas. In an average week, over 500,000 households tune in. The organization also operates three standard definition channels, Fusion (WNEO.2/WEAO.2), MHz Worldview (WNEO.3/WEAO.3) and V-me (WNEO.4/WEAO.4).

Through funding from eTech Ohio, Western Reserve Public Media provides K-12 educational technology training and instructional television programming to 21,500 educators and 256,700 students in eight Ohio counties. For more information about the organization, visit www.WesternReservePublicMedia.org or call 1-800-554-4549.