San Diego Emmy Awards Show Was Hardly Worth Watching

Given that local television news personalities are the closest things to celebrities in San Diego, with the exception of a few sports figures, politicians and well-publicized zoo animals, televising the presentation of the local Emmys live Saturday night should have made for great television.

Would San Diego’s hottest couple, Kimberly Hunt and Billy Ray Smith, be there? Would Michael Tuck show up with new plastic surgery? Is Denise Yamada really a giggly talking head, or is that just an act for television?

Although Yamada made it crystal clear that she’s no actress, there was little in the television coverage for Mr. and Mrs. Average San Diegan. The show, produced by Cox Cable and the local chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and beamed via satellite throughout Southern California, focused purely on the business of giving out the awards.

No glitzy dance numbers. No skits. They simply handed out the awards, and begged recipients to keep acceptance speeches short and clean, since it was on television.

“We may not have been funny, but we’re fast,” presenter Rory Devine told the crowd, summing up the glamour and hoopla of the evening.

For the record, KNSD-TV (Channel 39), which treats the Emmys as the biggest event of the year, received the most Emmys, earning awards in 25 categories. It also submitted more entries and bought more tickets to the awards ceremony than any other station. It missed out on the Outstanding News Station award, though, the one it certainly coveted more than any other, which went to KGTV (Channel 10).

KFMB-TV (Channel 8) weather guy/comedian Larry Mendte won Emmys in the writer/news, news feature (pre-produced) and performer (news) categories.

The most honored individual was independent producer Dan Arden, who received four awards for producing and directing “San Diego: History in Motion,” and for co-producing and co-directing the documentary, “Earning the Title: The Making of a United States Marine.”

Former Channel 39 reporter Bill Ritter, Channel 39’s Paul Bloom and Channel 10’s Michael Tuck also picked up statuettes.

Several producers laid off by KPBS last week won awards, including Paul Marshall (historical/cultural program), Sarah Luft (informational/education program and entertainment program) and Anasa Briggs-Graves (entertainment program). Surprisingly, no one chose to interject reality into the warm and fuzzy ceremony by mentioning last week’s bitter turn of events at the public broadcasting station, until presenter Doug Waldo, a KPBS employee, finally said what needed to be said.

“I just want to say that I’m damn proud of all our producers,” Waldo told the crowd.

The presentation of the awards lasted a tedious 2 1/2 hours. It may have seemed like an eternity to all involved, but it was easily the quickest-paced Emmy show in recent memory, especially considering that more than 100 awards were handed out.

For the home viewing audience, the clips of winners worked well, but there were no crowd shots for celebrity-hungry viewers. The Cox Cable staff rarely managed any camera angles beyond a straight-ahead look at the podium.

The show came across like a club meeting, a private party complete with an abundance of inside jokes.

“There’s a new category this year for sports anchors paying the most alimony,” quipped Channel 39 film critic Laurence Gross, a reference to Channel 8 Ted Leitner’s marriage history.

There were some moving moments during the show. Former Channel 39 reporter Bill Ritter, a winner for journalistic enterprise and investigative reporting, spoke about working after his mother died. Bob Mills, who spent three decades working for channels 8, 39 and, finally 10, seemed genuinely touched to be given a special President’s Award. Mills said it was the first time in 30 years that he had appeared on TV without his toupee. In his acceptance speech, he spoke of many of the pioneers of San Diego television no longer alive, including former Channel 10 general manager Clayton Brace.

Channel 10’s Larry Sacknoff also showed real emotion after winning an Emmy in the performer category, thanking Channel 10 News Director Paul Sands for sticking with him after he suffered a heart attack two years ago.

“He’s my boss, but he’s also my friend, and that’s something I haven’t had in this business,” Sacknoff said of Sands.

Sands provided his own touching moment, when he dedicated the Outstanding News Station award to longtime assignment editor Jack Moorehead, the type of veteran television employee “with a job title that doesn’t lend itself to awards.”

Most of the awards were given in technical categories, those people who, all the highly paid talking heads constantly say, are “often overlooked.” Most seemed to stop just short of calling them “the little people” who make it all work.

But while everybody was giving lip service to their newly discovered technical friends, Channel 39 photographer John DeTarsio, who won three Emmys in photographer and audio technician categories, said it best.

“Photographers are not just people who aim and shoot a camera,” he told the audience. “They’re storytellers, who capture the emotions and let people know what it is like to be there.”