Author Archives: larenabaldazo

Welcome to the Off Camera Blog!

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Welcome to the off camera blog!

By Larena Baldazo

Marketing Chair

Off Camera has been a special member benefit for almost 60 years, so the idea of changing the monthly digital (can’t forget award-winning!) newsletter into a blog raised some eyebrows.

What would this look like?

How will our members be notified when a post goes up? 

 All of these concerns were valid, and I am relieved to have been met with more support than concern. As with any change, it is only right to need clarity about what to expect. 

The goal of this blog is to deliver the same behind-the-scenes content you have always trusted us to cover, but in real-time and on our new blog page. Blog posts will be published to the site and shared to social media, and at the beginning of the month, you will receive an email from us, recapping new posts.   

The blog is long overdue, and I could not have launched this without the support of our Chapter President, Brooks Jarosz, Executive Director, Darryl Compton and our executive team. Our regular contributors (and some new!) have also been instrumental in the progress of the new blog, as well as Frontera Interactive. 

As Emmy® SF’s Marketing Chair and Off Camera Publisher, I want you to know that your stories are what keeps this newsletter/blog going. I want to hear from you, and I encourage you to share your latest project with us, an update about your advocacy journey or any new passions you have developed as a NATAS member, governor, media student, or chair. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the more voices there are, the more truth there is, and we learn and grow by sharing ideas and information. Let’s empower one another to do just that as media professionals in the SF Bay Area.  

The world sees what you are sharing on camera, let’s showcase the behind-the-scenes tidbits for this community.  

To submit a story, please email your submission in a Word document to Lhernandez@email.jfku.edu and attach photos. Please do include any captions needed, the title/headline and byline. Submissions will not be considered outside of this format, and you can learn more about our content requirements here. Remember, content from the blog will also be shared on social media, and with members in an email blast, at the beginning of each month.

To read past issues of Off Camera, click here. To learn more about me, Larena Baldazo, Marketing Chair and Off Camera Publisher, click here.   

Nominations For The 2021-2022 National Student Production Awards Announced

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Nominations for the 2021-2022 NATIONAL STUDENT PRODUCTION AWARDS Announced

The NATAS SF/NorCal Chapter submitted 18 regional recipients of excellence to the National Student Production Awards, and 16 (89%) were nominated.
 
The Foundation of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced the nominees for the 2022 National Student Production Awards. Nominees were selected from high school student entries across the country in 25 programming and craft categories.
 
“The EMMY® Awards are the ‘gold standard’ in the television broadcast industry – recognizing the very best of the best,” said Terry O’Reilly, Chairman, NATAS. “Similarly, our National Student Production Awards recognize the very best from our industry’s next generation of media creators and leaders. The work they’re doing today promises an amazing future ahead – for them, and for the entire television community.”
 
“The work created by our nominees is exemplary,” said Danielle Mannion, Education Chair, NATAS. “Each year the students and their teachers raise the bar of excellence higher. The future of the industry looks bright with these talented individuals leading the way!”
 
“Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter (18 nominations), San Francisco/Northern California Chapter (16 nominations), and Suncoast Chapter (15 nominations) lead the pack in this year’s national competition,” said SF/NorCal Education Chair Toby Momtaz. “Our chapter is honored that the work of our talented high school students has been acknowledged in this way.”
 
This year’s submissions were successfully culled from over 2,000 entries from the regional chapters of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Entries were judged by selected industry professionals and media academics.
 
The 2022 National Student Production Award recipients will be announced November 17, 2022, beginning at 10am (PT) via a web stream produced by NATAS. This and all NATAS ceremonies are available on NATAS’ dedicated viewing platform powered by Vimeo, available on the web at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and via The Emmys® apps for iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV, Roku and Samsung TV (full list at apps.theemmys.tv).
 
 
Following are the nominees for the National Student Awards from the SF/NorCal chapter:
 
PROGRAM CATEGORIES
 
Newscast
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Buchanan High School, Clovis – “BNN 2022”
Lucille Malcolm, Producer; Gabriel Munro, Producer/Anchor/Camera/Editor; Rylee Gonzales, Producer/Anchor/Writer; Kelton Oliver, Ellianna Sandoval, Reporters; Daniel Hall, Reporter/Camera/Editor; Parker Wyatt, Alejandro Piedra Granados, Makayla Wyckoff, Camera/Editors; Phoenix Sadler, Ray Williams, Editors; Daniel Pearce, Advisor
 
Fiction – Short Form
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Moanalua High School – “Pan de Vida”
Sara Brekke, Leigh Antoinette Medina, Producers; Caydie Furutani, Actress; Mark Ikenaga, Advisor
 
Fiction – Long Form
NATIONAL NOMINEE: El Diamante High School Media Arts Academy – “Come Home”
Avery Hazard, Kevin Lau, Noah Lillywhite, Kai Willey, Samuel Zurek, Producers; Ellie Hebert, Advisor
 
Sports Story or Segment
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Whitney High School WCTV19 – “Punching Her Fears Away”
Makena Locsin, Reporter; Alyssa Eimer, Photographer; Ben Barnholdt, Advisor
 
Public Service Announcement (PSA)
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Franklin High School – “Johnny”
 Marcus Farrar, Writer/Director/Animator; Brad Clark, Advisor
 
Commercial
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Buchanan High School, Clovis – “Amanda Rogers Photography”
Rylee Gonzales, Gabriel Munro, Producers; Daniel Pearce, Advisor
 
CRAFT CATEGORIES
 
Animation/Graphics/Special Effects
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Whitney High School WCTV19 – “Shawn Singh Reel”
Shawn Singh, Graphic Artist; Ben Barnholdt, Advisor
 
Audio/Sound
NATIONAL NOMINEE: El Diamante High School Media Arts Academy – “Come Home”
Noah Lillywhite, Audio; Avery Hazard, Foley; Ellie Hebert, Advisor
 
Director
NATIONAL NOMINEE: El Diamante High School Media Arts Academy – “Come Home”
Kai Willey, Director; Ellie Hebert, Advisor
 
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Tamalpais High School, Academy of Integrated Humanities and New Media (AIM) – “The Letter”
Cameraman Ford, Director; Mike Goldstein, Mike Lavezzo, Sharilyn Scharf, Advisors
 
Editor
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Moanalua High School – “Forever”
Sara Brekke, Editor; Mark Ikenaga, Advisor
 
Photographer
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Buchanan High School, Clovis – “Boboland”
Braden Estes, Director of Photography; Levi Hull, Camera Operator; Daniel Pearce, Advisor
 
NATIONAL NOMINEE: El Diamante High School Media Arts Academy – “Come Home”
Kevin Lau, Sam Zurek, Cinematographers; Ellie Hebert, Advisor
 
Talent – News or Sports
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Whitney High School WCTV19 – “Ken Munoz Reel”
Ken Munoz, On Air Talent; Ben Barnholdt, Advisor
 
Talent Performer
NATIONAL NOMINEE: Moanalua High School – “Forever”
Leigh Antoinette Medina, Talent; Mark Ikenaga, Advisor
 
Writer
NATIONAL NOMINEE: El Diamante High School Media Arts Academy – “Come Home” 
Kai Willey, Writer; Ellie Hebert, Advisor
 
Mark your calendars Thursday, November 17, 2022 – 10am (PT) Watch.TheEmmys.TV
 

Más Fuertes Juntos, Stronger Together

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Más Fuertes Juntos, Stronger Together

By Kris Sanchez
Governor

¿Como estan? ¿Como estamos? How are you? How are we? 

Those were the big questions this Saturday as your Emmy® SF Awards committee hosted a forum for NATAS NorCal members who compete in the Spanish categories. I was honored to deliver the welcoming remarks as the Awards Committee vice-chair for the Spanish Contest.

This is a new position and one dedicated to making the Spanish contest the most viable and successful it can be. I hope that as a bilingual journalist who works in a duopoly, I can be a resource. If you have questions, need clarification or even just want to vent, please reach out. I put my contacts at the bottom of this post. 

Our chapter’s Spanish contest was created in 2006. Our members who compete in Spanish add more than another set of categories in a second language. You contribute more voices, more perspectives, and more energy to the contest. To see some of our members doing work that would impossible – or even illegal in some of our countries of origin – is truly inspiring and should remind all of us of the privilege of a free press and the power of journalism.  

Since that first contest in 2006, Spanish entries grew steadily through 2018 when entries peaked. Since then, Spanish entries have been declining. Last year, we only had 124 Spanish submissions, which is a 40% drop. Look at this: 

Why?

The board has gotten questions about the number of categories, how entries are judged, the cost, why Spanish and English entries are not judged together and more. We addressed many of these issues Saturday. If you couldn’t attend, this is a link to the discussion.

If you want to read rather than watch, here is how we addressed some of the issues that came up: 

-Cost: Our chapter has not raised fees since 2016 and fees are tiered for large market, medium and small market entries. Our chapter is a non-profit, and because of the large number of statues awarded on Emmy night, the Spanish contest and Awards Gala run at deficits.  

-Judging: When we submit our work for an Emmy, we agree to judge for other chapters when they send material to us. It’s a requirement that on average, only 20% of Spanish entrants meet. Our chapter has waived the $45 penalty for not judging, but we still need people to fulfill their obligations in both the Spanish and English contests. Bonus, if you want to know what wins, this is good way to see entries from other markets and what’s award-worthy and what’s not. 

-Bias: Some entrants worry about bias, especially from judges with different station affiliations. This would be an unethical violation of judging rules. The judging pool is smaller for the Spanish contest than the English contest, because there are fewer Spanish stations and organizations. Consider this: in 2021, there were entrants from 69 English stations, production companies and other organizations. In the Spanish contest, there were just nine stations, production companies and other organizations.

-Blind Judging: Your entry is scored by members of other regional Emmy chapters. Only our Executive Director knows their markets or identities. He routinely scrutinizes the raw scores, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He has the authority to eliminate a troublesome judge and ask that they not judge for our chapter in the future. 

-Number of Categories: The number of categories is dependent on the number of entries. A viable category must have a minimum of four submissions. When that viability standard is not met, our committee looks for a similar category with which to fairly combine the material. We call that rolling up. All entrants must agree. Entrants also have the option of withdrawing their entry and getting their entry fee refunded. Based on the number of 2021 entries, we expect to have 22 Spanish categories. This will allow more robust competition within each category. If we get enough entries, we can roll out some of that material into more categories. 

-Bilingual Contest: Some members come from markets where English and Spanish entries are judged together. A long-time Awards Committee member points out that often, it looks like a single contest on Emmy night, but behind the scenes, the Spanish and English entries are judged separately by two different panels. As such, it is not a true bilingual contest. A true bilingual contest for our NorCal chapter would require all judges to be bilingual, which would exclude judges who only speak English or Spanish. This would further narrow the judging pool and exclude people with a depth of experience.


You can find a lot of answers in our chapter’s by-laws and in the Call For Entries, which will soon be finalized for this year’s contest. But, please know that the Awards Committee, your Board of Governors and your Trustees are all willing and able to address your concerns, answer your questions and provide clarity and transparency.

¿Y yo? I’ve been a working journalist for more than 25 years, including 18 in the Bay Area. I’ve been an entrant, a nominee but never a winner. I believe that’s a credit to the talent in this chapter! I stepped up to serve on the board when I heard the Spanish contest was struggling. I think it’s worth fighting for, for all of us, Spanish and English members alike.  

Aqui estoy para servirles, por favor no duden en ponerme a trabajar. 

Kris Sanchez

Kris.Sanchez@nbcuni.com

Sanchez.young@yahoo.com

408-483-4239

FB: https://www.facebook.com/KrisSanchezNBCBayArea

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrisNBC

IG: https://www.instagram.com/krisnbc

New Governor Spotlight: Jim Jakobs

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New Governor Spotlight: Jim Jakobs

1. Name? Jim Jakobs.

2. Current job title? News Director.

3. Where do you work? KMPH FOX26 in Fresno.

4. If you went to school, where and what did you study? CA State Sacramento, Communication Studies.

5. Where else have you worked? KCRA, KNTV, KOVR, KOCO (Oklahoma City), KFSN (Fresno).

6. What other job titles have you had in your career? Assignment Editor, Assignment Manager, CA Capitol Bureau Chief, Executive News Producer, Assistant News Director.

7. How did you decide on your profession? I wanted to originally do something sports related, but after doing an internship at KOVR in 1994 I realized I loved the news side more.

8. If you didn't work in Television, Arts and Sciences, what would you be doing? Probably something in criminal justice.

9. What do you love about your market? The proximity to so many wonderful places like Yosemite, the coast, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.

10. What do you enjoy most about our industry? Telling stories that make a positive impact on the community.

11. What do you think is the key to professional success? Challenging myself to continually keep learning new things.

12. When do you wake up on a workday? On a weekend? On a workday, 6:30 a.m. On a weekend, 7 a.m.

13. Favorite social media platform? Twitter for work, Instagram for family.

14. Any awards, recognition or accolades you’re proud of? I’m proud of a little statuette I and the entire staff of KCRA received in 1997 for our continuing flood coverage after a major storm on Jan. 1.

15. What’s something you know now that you wish you knew at the beginning of your career? Moving away from home earlier would have helped me in the long term. Don’t be afraid to leave the nest.

16. How would your colleagues describe you in 3 words? Disciplined, focused, dedicated.

17. Where did you grow up? Grass Valley (about an hour northeast of Sacramento).

18. Tell us about your loved ones. I lost my dear wife Karyn to cancer in 2016. I had to raise my 5 kids by myself until I met and married again in 2021.

19. Do you have any pets? Two labs, and my youngest daughter just got a hamster.

20. Favorite hobby? Watching baseball.

Board Retreat Renews Enthusiasm and Ignites Ideas

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By: Brooks Jarosz 
NATAS SF/NorCal President

Great minds from the newly seated NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Board of Governors met in-person and virtually, for a fruitful day focused on serving our Chapter and its members.

For some, it may have felt like the first day of school. The excitement spilled throughout the meeting rooms and event space at OakStop in downtown Oakland on a sun-filled Saturday in August.

“The enthusiastic interaction and collaboration was quite wonderful,” National Trustee Alison Gibson said. “It shows we are all working together in earnest to make this Chapter stronger than ever.”

As the newly-elected President, it was my first time leading a retreat to culminate new ideas, provide structure, and aim to get every board member involved in one or more of our hardworking committees.

The retreat began with introductions and then breakout sessions between our markets including the Bay Area, Sacramento, Hawaii, Fresno, and other smaller markets. It allowed the Vice Presidents who represent those areas to discuss what mattered most, including how the organization could better serve those markets.

While NATAS is often only associated with the coveted Emmy Awards, our efforts in producing programs, funding and awarding scholarships, and providing valuable mentorships for our members, are just a few other key objectives.

“This was among the most productive board retreats I’ve attended in over a decade on the board,” said Finance Co-Chair Julie Watts. “Our newly elected board members brought energy and fantastic ideas.”

Those ideas for new initiatives led to robust discussions about events, sponsorships, member benefits, outreach and diversity. Stay tuned.

Great strides were also made to bolster key committees, including the Education Committee.

“This year’s smaller and much more focused group came up with many more innovative ideas for us to devote ourselves to in the coming year,” said Toby Momtaz who chairs the committee.

By assigning governors to specific roles or tasks in committees, plans are already being charted to encourage greater participation and expand our Chapter’s reach.

Ultimately, all of us on the board volunteer our service for the betterment of our Chapter, to serve our members, and to acknowledge and reward excellence.

I speak for all of us when I say, we are always open to new ideas, criticism, and finding ways to evolve and innovate.

“The retreat was just what we needed to discuss our needs, as a chapter and from a committee standpoint, to collaborate and restructure things,” said Marketing Chair Larena Baldazo. “I am excited to see how we evolve from here.”

If you have ideas or feedback, please email brooks@emmysf.tv