WRAL-TV Snags Four Emmys in Nashville

WRAL-TV won four statues at the 18th Annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 24, 2004, in Nashville, Tennessee. WRAL-TV and FOX50 received a whopping 22 nominations in 58 categories among some stiff competition.

WRAL-TV Anchor/Reporter Cullen Browder

WRAL-TV News Photographer Gil Hollingsworth

WRAL-TV Anchor/Reporter Cullen Browder and News Photographer Gil Hollingsworth brought home the Emmy in the Investigative Reporting category, in which they were nominated twice. They won the Emmy for "Jail Doctor," a story about a doctor in the Wake County Jail. The piece investigated accusations that despite being one of the highest paid county employees that the doctor was not putting in 40 hours a week as required.

WRAL-TV News Director John Harris

WRAL-TV Director/Producer Robert Hale

WRAL-TV News Director John Harris and Director/Producer Robert Hale won an Emmy in the Special Event/ Live category for "9/11 Special: 1 Year Later." Harris said, "Our look back at 9/11 was truly a team effort, and the only credit I can take personally is knowing when to step back and let our talented people do what they do best. From the tasteful graphic artwork to compelling stories of the human spirit -- we managed to produce a program that went beyond the ordinary 'anniversary' specials."

WRAL-TV Senior Producer Phyllis Parish

WRAL-TV Senior Producer Phyllis Parish and a team of community members won an Emmy in the Children's/Educational category for the locally produced "Smart Start Kids." Triangle children are invited to be stars of the show. Parish explained the program concept: "We take them to fun, interesting places in our state, such as behind the scenes with the NC Symphony musicians, trips to a Raleigh vet's office, a Chapel Hill bakery, the NC Museum of Art and many different parks and libraries. Besides these engaging 'field trips,' Willa Brigham, Smart Start Kids' host, encourages the children to share their stories, sing songs, ask questions and play along."

WRAL-TV Producer Dan Oliver

WRAL-TV Producer Dan Oliver won an Emmy in the Children's/Entertainment category for his original series, centralXpress.com. The award came for the episode"Yelling I Love You" about the sudden death of one of the series' main characters, Cameron, and how the death affects her family, friends and teachers. This makes the 9th Regional Emmy for the series.

"What a statement for our company to win Emmys in both the children's educational and entertainment categories, at a time when many local stations are producing fewer and fewer local programs," said Parish.

The evening gala took place at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Of 762 entries, 226 received nominations. The 22 nominations for WRAL-TV & FOX50 included:

News Excellence
WRAL News

Newscast
Winter Storm - James Ford, Sharon Cole, WRAL-TV

Non-Spot Story
Super Hornets - Scott Mason, WRAL-TV

Feature Story/Hard News
Houses with Outhouses - Scott Mason, WRAL-TV

News Series/Non-Hard News
Festival of Flight - Scott Mason, Jay Jennings, WRAL-TV
Living the Legacy - Scott Mason, Jay Jennings, WRAL-TV

Weathercast
A Taste of Fall in August - Elizabeth Gardner, WRAL-TV

Documentary/Topical
Tangled Lines - Bill Leslie, Richard Adkins, WRAL-TV

Investigative Reporting
Jail Doctor - Cullen Browder, Gil Hollingsworth, WRAL-TV
Thimerosal - Cullen Browder, Gil Hollingsworth, WRAL-TV

Special Event/Live
9/11 Special: 1 Year Later - John Harris, Robert Hale, WRAL-TV

Community Station Project
WRAL's For the Children Campaign - Phyllis Parish, Loretta Harper-Arnold, WRAL-TV

Children's/Educational
Smart Start Kids - Phyllis Parish, Lee Wing, Bill Jensen, Willa Brigham, Farley Bernholz, WRAL-TV

Children's/Entertainment
centralXpress.com - Dan Oliver, WRAL-TV

PSA Spot
Bus Rules - Shelly Leslie, WRAL-TV

Promo/News
FOX50 Morning News, Hands On - Christian McIllwain, WRAL-TV

Promo/Non-News
OnTV OnLine OnTheGo - Shelly Leslie, Bill Reeves, WRAL-TV

Promo Campaign
Cash Cow - Scott Reid, Timothy Greeney, Jason Matthews, FOX50 OnTV
OnLine OnTheGo - Shelly Leslie, Bill Reeves, WRAL-TV

Animation
Bill Reeves Composite - Bill Reeves, WRAL-TV

WRAL-TV Director/Non-News
centralXpress.com - Dan Oliver, WRAL-TV

Graphic Arts
Steve Loyd Composite - Steve Loyd, WRAL-TV

POSTED: January 28, 2004