December 2013 

     It's time to gather your best work of 2013.

Dec. 1 marks the call for entries for the 2014 San Francisco/Northern California Area Emmy� Awards.  

     Start early and beat the Jan. 24 deadline. Online entry forms are at www.emmysf.tv, along with a list of categories and rules.

    Three new categories have been added.

     CATEGORY 16: Lifestyle. For excellence in stories or programs dealing with everyday life, such as cooking, home improvement, gardening, outdoors, crafts, auto repairs, etc.

     CATEGORY 18: Special Events Coverage. For excellence in coverage of a one-time only, anticipated community, entertainment, or sports event.

     CATEGORY 32: Musical Composition / Arrangement. This is a craft award.

     Complete list of rules and categories, just click on the link to the Call for Entries.

Link to Call for Entries 

Link to your Membership 

Link to Online Entry 

Important dates:

     Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 - Deadline for entries

     Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 - Video upload deadline

     Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 - Entry list posted at www.emmysf.tv

     Friday, April 11, 2014 - Last day to add names to entries

     Wednesday, May 7, 2014 (noon) - Nominations Announced at www.emmysf.tv

     Saturday, June 14, 2014 - Emmy� Gala at San Francisco Hilton Union Square 

     Rosy Chu is retiring this month from KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland after 42 years there. 

     With her departure, Chu -- KTVU's director of community affairs and public service -- is among the longest-tenured employees ever in the 55-year history of the station.

     "I lived the dream being able to travel from San Francisco and cross the Bay Bridge to land my dream job at KTVU in 1971," Chu says.

     "Rosy's commitment to the community and to KTVU and TV36 is unprecedented. She has made an impact on our stations and the community for over four decades which all of us are grateful for. Her steady presence in building community outreach, enhancing the lives of those she meets and her relationships with community leaders will be missed dearly." says Tom Raponi, KTVU/TV36 vice president and general manager. 

Rosy Chu  Retiring After 42 Years  At KTV

     Chu got her start as a secretary in the station's art department, then moved on to a number of producer roles. From 1985 to 1988, she was the producer of 2 at Noon- the first newscast outside The Ten O'clock News. In 1989, she took on her current role.

     Chu has been an ambassador for KTVU and a resource for the community. Since joining the station in 1971, she has traveled throughout California and to China and Australia, hosting and producing a number of documentaries. She also has hosted and produced a variety of public affairs programs, including four years as a News and talk show Producer. Some of Chu's most memorable interviews include, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, United Farm Workers Founder Cesar Chavez and author and activist, Gloria Steinem.

     "I've had a chance to interview some very important people, from politicians, Hollywood stars and athletes and they were all fascinating. But with that said, my most memorable interviews would include all of those strong and brave individuals who allowed me to share their stories on their struggles and success in overcoming the human condition. From incredibly difficult life challenges of illness and injustice to domestic violence, they all showed that people are resilient and hopeful," Chu says. 

     "As I come across people in the community every day and they hear you work for KTVU, many of them talk about being on Rosy's show. There are countless companies in the Bay Area that Rosy has touched. Small or big, Rosy's helped them all get their message out there." says Jim Haman, the station's director of broadcast operations.

     Chu was among the first woman of Asian descent to work behind-the-scenes in the television industry. She was the first Asian American woman to host and produce a regularly scheduled talk show, All the People in the Bay Area. She was an early member of Asians in Mass Media and the National Asian American Telecommunications Association. Chu also served on the founding Board of Directors for the San Francisco Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and was the first Asian American on the Board of Governors for the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

     In 1990, Chu helped launch Bay Area People, the Bay Area's longest running public affairs program. She has also directed some of the Bay Area's largest television public affairs projects such as Family 2 Family, One Warm Coat and Cox Conserves Heroes.          In 2005, Chu was inducted into the Silver Circle of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has been nominated for eight regional Emmy awards, winning one. Her work has been recognized by numerous community groups and national organizations including: The Take A Bigger Role Life Savers Video Excellence Award; the National Broadcasters Association Children's Television Award; N.Y. Film and Video Festival Awards, California School Boards Foundation Documentary Media Award, the California Teachers' Association Media Excellence Awards and American Women in Radio and Television.      In 2010, Chu was recognized by the Asian American Journalist Association as being a pioneer and one of the first Asian American public affairs producer, host and manager in television. Most recently, Chu was recognized in 2012 by the Black Women Organized for Political Action as a Powerful Women of the Bay, recognizing her contributions as an outstanding woman in her field. Chu was also honored with being asked to record her personal story as part of StoryCorps, an independent non-profit project. The project honors and celebrates the lives of Americans through the capturing of oral histories.            Chu's family has been a big part of her KTVU career. She met her husband at the station and the birth of her daughter was covered on the News as a part of a Father's Day report.

      "There are two things that I will really miss about KTVU," she says. "The first is the great family that I have acquired over the past 42 years at KTVU. I grew up here at the station and there are a lot of people that have become family, sharing life together as we work side-by-side. The second is the terrific Bay Area community in which I've had the pleasure to serve. I'll truly miss working with those who are making their marks on our community, especially the large number of community groups that make a difference in our life and in our society."

    Shareholders of Media General shareholders have approved the company's merger with New Young Broadcasting.

    New Young Broadcasting owns San Francisco's KRON.

    As a result of the merger, the company will keep the Media General name and will continue to be traded on the NYSE under its existing symbol MEG.

    "We're delighted to have shareholder approval for our business combination with Young Broadcasting, and we are very excited about the prospects for the combined company," says George L. Mahoney, president and chief executive of Media General. "Once we receive FCC

 approval for our license transfers, we will close very quickly on the transaction.  We believe the review process is going smoothly at the FCC."

    Shareholders voted to eliminate Media General's dual-class stock structure and reclassify one-for-one each outstanding share of Media General's Class A and Class B common stock into a newly-created class of common stock. They also voted to issue approximately 60 million shares of the new common stock to Young Broadcasting equity holders, increasing the number of outstanding Media General shares to about 88 million.

"I was at Galileo High School in SF, just getting out of gym class and had to go all the way across campus and up 3 flights to my next class.

As I was walking up the stairs and down the hallway, I heard people talking about Kennedy being shot. We had a Mr. Kennedy who was a teacher so I thought they were referring to him. It wasn't until I got to my biology lab class that I knew what was happening.

The class was dark, no lights, and there was a TV set on.

Things are a blur after that. I don't remember if we were dismissed and went home or if we stayed in school. As with everyone else, I stayed glued to the TV set all weekend to watch Walter Cronkite. And, for the first time Gal's football team did well enough to play in the Thanksgiving playoffs at Kezar stadium that Thanksgiving... but of course, it was called off as the nation mourned."
~Rosy Chu 

I was a newly hired reporter hanging out near the Teletype machines in the Albany, N.Y. bureau of United Press International (UPI), leisurely scanning copy on the "A" wire, the machine that relentlessly churned out the most important stories for newspapers, radio and television stations around the world.  It was just after 1:30pm (EST), a slow news day, and the Teletype was noisily clacking out a story about a forgettable Minneapolis murder trial.  Suddenly the machine started sputtering in mid-sentence, the carriage jumping up and down rapidly, an indication that someone had pressed the key that interrupted the transmission so another bureau could send copy. "Five bells sounded, the signal that a "Bulletin" was about to be filed.  "Three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade today in downtown Dallas," the Dallas bureau reported. "Oh my God," I yelled. Half a dozen reporters, editors and teletype editors in the Albany bureau stopped what they were doing and joined me hovering over the Teletype as sparse details emerged. Veteran White House correspondent Merriman Smith, riding in the motorcade five cars in back of Kennedy, had grabbed the one radiotelephone in the press car and began dictating a story to UPI editors as the entourage sped toward Parkland Hospital. He was minutes ahead of the competition who, in the era before ubiquitous mobile phones, had no way to contact their newsrooms. Smith was now at the hospital and saw the President's limp body. Ten bells sounded on the Teletype -- a "FLASH" -- the absolute highest priority on the wire service scale.  "KENNEDY SERIOUSLY WOUNDED," it read.  "PERHAPS SERIOUSLY. PERHAPS FATALLY BY ASSASSINS BULLET." Smith continued to dictate a detailed account of the scene at Parkland and then those ominous ten bells and the words, "FLASH KENNEDY DEAD."

~Paul Jeschke

"I was working in the TV biz at the time of Kennedy's assassination. I had moved from the Midwest in 1960 to take a $2 an hour floor director's job at KNTV Channel 11 in San Jose. By November 22, 1963, I was doing three jobs: director, announcer and production manager. We all had multiple jobs in small TV stations in that era! That morning I had visited the station's Art Department which was across the street from the main part of the station. When I returned to the main building, I was asked by a very shaken salesman in the hallway "Have you heard what happened to the President?"  My response was "No."  His:  "He's been shot and killed in Dallas."  Little did I realize at that moment that this tragedy would be a turning point in television stations all over the country. I immediately went to the newsroom where the 1963 staff of four was busy reading the updates on the AP and UPI wire machines and watching the live news reports from the three networks at the time, ABC-TV, CBS-TV and NBC-TV.  Our program director motivated us to prepare a two hour afternoon live program. I was asked to co-host the program with Jess Marlow, our on-air news anchor, who later distinguished himself as a Los Angeles market TV anchor.  Jess handled all the significant news updates on the air.  My job was to introduce high school choirs we had invited to participate, to interview local politicians and dignitaries, and to handle all extraneous duties to free up Jess for the important news of the afternoon.  Following that two hour special just a few hours after the President's assassination, our KNTV staff and management came of age as did local broadcasters around the country, realizing the potential of local television stations to become major sources of news and special events of the day."

~Fred LaCosse

"I was a 5-year-old kid at home with my Mom...we were watching her favorite CBS TV soap opera,  "As The World Turns," when Walter Cronkite interrupted with the sad news. I remember for many days the replay of the awful film footage of the assassination...then, the Lee Harvey Oswald killing by Jack Ruby...over and over...then the funeral procession...every channel simulataneously...burned into my memory. Amazing that was 50 years ago! Three years later, I was aboard my first commercial United Air Lines flight to Honolulu, quite unexpectedly on our flight was Jacqueline Kennedy, Caroline, John-John, Peter Lawford and his family."

~Barry Barsamian

"I was in 5th grade in Baltimore, Maryland, and home sick that day.  Not so sick, really, but a "cold" back then.  Really an excuse to watch "I Love Lucy" re-runs after the Noon news in Baltimore.  But then, the world changed that early afternoon, eastern time.  That weekend I watched transfixed as live television in black and white brought us the vigil in the Rotunda and then the funeral procession.  It was at that point that I made the decision that the power of TV was awesome and that someday I was going to make that my life's work. In 1976, when I started as a PA in TV in Baltimore, a good number of the senior studio operators and techs had served in that live national funeral coverage in DC. They were young guys in '63 and now they were senior staff in 1976. They were in fact all "guys" back then (and they slept on the live production truck floor, all packed in, so they'd be in position for their "section" of the coverage). Many east coast crews came to help the nets; they covered "sections" of the route for live coverage using multiple cameras with their own directors sub-cutting and then returning control to the next unit as the procession moved toward Arlington Cemetery.  Those guys had great stories to tell about how they did what they did.  All of it reinforced my decision.....what a great calling this was, to serve in live local television."

~Joseph Heston

"I heard Walter Cronkite on the radio announce shots fired at JFK's motorcade in Dallas as I was about to hop the train into Grand Central station and the WNEW newsroom. By the time I reached the studio in mid Manhattan, my colleague Reid Collins was already on the air, JFK was dead and Ike Pappas had been dispatched to Dallas. I went to cover the great silent wave of mourners descending on St. Patrick's cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Faces from the giant melting pot that is New York, all streaming into the great cathedral, in collective shock and grief.  The silence was broken only by the echoing foot steps on the marble floor. I hear it even now.  It has become in memory a mute memorial to the common thread that connects us all in such moments. I would hope that this fiftieth remembrance of that dark day in Dallas might also rekindle the reality I witnessed in that moment of one people, one nation."

~George Reading 

~Jim Branson

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

San Francisco/Northern California Chapter

Gold & Silver Circle Nominations 2014

This is your opportunity to honor the careers and contributions

of our NATAS chapter's most distinguished television colleagues

by nominating them to the Gold & Silver Circle Class of 2014.

NOMINATION FORMS AVAILABLE AT:

www.emmysf.tv

Click on Gold & Silver Circle

4317 Camden Avenue, San Mateo CA 94403

PHONE: (650) 341-7786 FAX: (650) 372-0279

EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.emmysf.tv

NOMINATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE

TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2014

The Gold Circle honors individuals who have been actively engaged in television broadcasting for 50 years or more (with at least half of those years in the chapter region) and who have fulfilled the same criteria as Silver Circle nominees. Gold Circle inductees are elected by the NATAS Chapter Board of Governors.

Neither the candidate nor the nominator need be a member of NATAS.

Inductees will join the ranks of television luminaries such as: Belva Davis, Roberta Gonzalez, Spencer Christian, Jim Swanson, Don Ford, Pam Moore, Marty Gonzalez, Ysabel Dur�n, Pete Wilson, Barbara Rodgers, Kevin Wing, Dave McElhatton, Wendy Tokuda, Rigo Chacon, Sydnie Kohara, John Kessler, Dennis Richmond, Belva Davis, Ross McGowan, Ed Pearce (Reno), Nancy Osborne (Fresno), Pam Young (Hawaii), Dan Adams (Sacramento), Suzanne Shaw, Luis Echegoyen, Rita Williams, Don McCuaig, Shirley Temple Black, Charles Schulz, Jack Hanson, Jim Vargas, Don Sanchez, Joe Fonzi, Cheryl Hurd, Jack LaLanne and Elaine LaLanne.

NATAS 2013 Gold & Silver Circle Induction Luncheon

Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel San Francisco, 55 Cyril Magnin Street, Market at Fifth

FALL 2014

Exact date to be announced.

Gold & Silver Circle Profiles 

The chance of you being in an airline accident may be slim, but here are some things to consider before you board your next flight.

Get in Shape. This is not so much a question of looking good, but in an emergency evacuation, you will need considerable strength, agility and balance to save your life. Remember, if the cabin fills with smoke, you'll need to be able to get down on the floor and crawl to get to an exit. This can be a problem if you're not very flexible and can't move quickly.

Pay attention to how you dress. What you (and your children) wear matters. Keep a copy of these tips in your suitcase as a reminder when preparing for your next trip.

• Don't wear synthetics, such as polyester, nylon, rayon or poly-cotton blends. Even though you may be far enough from the fire to avoid serious injury, the heat alone will melt your synthetic clothing and it'll adhere to your bare skin.Melted fabric that sticks to flesh can result in a critical burn and infection. However, at the same distance away from the heat, a cotton jacket or pair of pants won't begin to char or catch fire. The bottom line is, natural fibers are safer, plastic is dangerous.

• Wear natural fibers, such as cotton, pure wool, silk, or leather. Cotton is flammable, but in a truly massive and intense fire, whether your clothes are flammable or not won't matter much unfortunately. NOTE: Some cotton shirts are sewn with poly/cotton thread (an ignition source), so you are still vulnerable.

• Wear long pants and long sleeves. Skip the short skirts, shorts and skimpy T-shirts. Protect your arms and legs. Heavy denim pants and a cotton long-sleeved shirt are best.

• Wear layers. Two layers are better than one. You can wear a 100% cotton long-sleeved shirt under a cotton jacket. Add a cotton T-shirt under your shirt for another layer of protection.

• Wear cotton or wool socks. In this case, the longer they are, the better.

• Don't wear frayed or fuzzy clothing. A frayed cotton jacket, shirt or jeans with its dangling cotton threads can ignite when exposed to even the smallest flame.

• Wear sturdy, closed-toed shoes with secure laces or straps. Leather is the best heat-resistant footwear material. For the best protection against heat, wear leather boots, but be sure they have heat-resistant thread and laces. Leave your heels, flip-flops and sandals in your luggage. Heels can actually puncture an airline's escape slide and you'll have to remove your shoes in an emergency.

• Wear comfortable, unrestrictive clothing. If your clothes are tight, you won't be able to move quickly and easily in an emergency evacuation.

• Carry a cotton or wool handkerchief or scarf. In a fire, wear this over your mouth and nose as a smoke filtering mask.

Remember...if your clothing catches fire, STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!

Karen's Fit Tip: Wear a medical identification tag. This is important when you have a medical issue, such as asthma, a blood disorder, heart condition, or rare blood type. High-stress emergencies can trigger a cardiac event or heavy smoke can bring on an asthma attack.

TV A Go Go...

New Beginnings and Opportunities Around the Chapter

     Betty Yu has joined KPIX 5 in San Francisco as a general assignment reporter. The Bay Area native began Nov. 11. Yu arrives from WTVJ-TV in Miami, where she has been reporting for the last two years. Prior to Miami, she was an anchor and reporter for News 12 The Bronx and Brooklyn. Yu graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. 

     Brandon Mercer joins KPIX 5 in San Francisco as director of digital content. He was news director at KTXL in Sacramento. 

     Tina Vossugh joins KPIX 5 in San Francisco as assignment editor. She was an associate producer for CNN.

      Few lives have been as successful, yet so quietly lived as that of Bruce Franchini, the award-winning television producer/director who died earlier this month and whose funeral took place in Palm Springs on Nov. 22.

      He was 69.

      Born in San Francisco and raised in San Anselmo, Franchini began his television career with KQED while still a student at San Francisco State University.

      He moved fast up the television production ladder to become one of its best directors. His talent was recognized by a year's internship to BBC Television in London in 1969 and 1970, where he worked on Dr Who and a number of other fine programs.

      One of his earliest production successes was on the ground-breaking Newsroom program. During a decade in Los Angeles and New York he directed many concert, performance and theatrical programs including ACT's Cyrano de Bergerac,Meeting of Minds and the award winning Day at Night series.   

      On returning to San Francisco, Franchini produced and directed the documentary film,

Bruce Franchini

Conservatory - Inside the American Conservatory Theater - focusing on a young student named Annette Bening.  

      He then produced and directed dozens of programs for KQED, the San Francisco Opera, and PBS including Opera in the Park, Jazz Tap Ensemble: In Review, San Francisco Ballet's Jinx, Growing a Business and the Emmy award-winning Linda Ronstadt's Canciones De Mi Padre.  His facility to build a devoted production team around him, produce a highly professional program and have enormous fun in the process made him a very popular colleague.

     It also endeared him to artists who often were not totally at ease speaking in front of a camera.  This was evident in his beautifully filmed interviews for the San Francisco Symphony's 1986 Opening Night Gala with pianist Rudolf Serkin and opera diva, Leontyne Price. 

    The son of a restaurateur and a talented cook himself, Franchini left a lasting impression on culinary television.  His programs, screened globally, invariably won industry awards (6 James Beard awards and eight nominations or Emmys over three decades). These included NewYork's Master Chefs, followed by The de' Medici Kitchen,Cooking Techniques and further programs with the late Julia Child, Jacques P�pin (Fast Food My Way), Lidia Bastianich (Lidia's Family Table, and Lidia's Italy) and Jos� Andr�s (Made in Spain) These fine chefs all preferred to work with Franchini rather than any other director because of his attention to detail, his empathy and calm professionalism.

    His expertise was probably showcased most effectively in the early 1990s when he directed the Emmy Award-winning Gardens of the World, hosted by the late Audrey Hepburn, who he effectively helped persuade out of retirement to work on the series.  

    In later life, Franchini also traveled and collaborated extensively with his long-term partner, the international concert pianist, recording artist, teacher and composer, John Bayless. They married quietly shortly before Franchini's death after 27 years together.

    Franchini is survived by his brother, Nick Franchini, sister, Royann Franchini and a large extended family. He will be greatly missed by them and his very many devoted friends.     A memorial service will be announced shortly.