Take This Emmy and Shove It

FTVLive has always felt that the Emmy's were nothing more than a waste of time and a waste of money.

Every year, station's PR people send FTVLive stories about how many Emmy's their station just won and every year, we just delete the email and never use the story. 

Winning an Emmy is about as easy as winning a Members Only jacket, just go to the store and buy one. 

WGN (Chicago)  Morning Producer Jeff Hoover used to get wrapped up in the Emmy hype. He has won and he's lost, but he says he is done playing the game.

On his Facebook page, Hoover writes:

The last time I won an Emmy was in 2006 for Individual Achievement on Camera: Performer.

When the nominations were announced that year, I learned that I was the only nominee in the category.

How exciting!

That excitement quickly evaporated after someone from the Emmy committee pulled me aside to tell me it doesn't mean I will win.

What? 

How could I be the only nominee and not win?

"And the nominees are, wait a second here.  Oh, and the nominee is Jeff Hoover.  And the winner goes to...there is no winner."

That would have been a waste of a tuxedo rental on a Sunday night in November.

Luckily, that didn't happen.

I won.

I leaped from my chair and ran up onto the stage and dry humped Rich Koz while almost getting punched by Janet Davies.

(I have the video somewhere. And Rich told me that I somehow knocked his contact lense up into his eyeball. Sorry, Sven.)

Ever since that night, I have entered that very same category.

And lost.

In bizzaro ways.

I've lost to a group of performers.

What?!  I thought it was INDIVIDUAL achievement? 

The committee tried to explain that one to me. 

They said it was a group performing as one or something sketchy like that.

And I've lost to the deaf reporter from ABC7.

How did we get into the same clown car category?

She does great reports about some wonderful people--and I tell jokes in a robot costume.

One year I even lost to a gospel preacher that hosts a show called 'SINGSATION.'

Again, how do I compete against Jesus?

To add insult to injury, his entry was submitted by a director that works HERE at WGN Morning News.

As a result of these odd experiences, I swore I wouldn't submit an entry again.

For a couple of years, I was able to just say NO.

But I got sucked back in last year and submitted a composite of some of what I felt was my best performances.

Guess what?

I didn't get nominated.

Guess who did?

ABC7's Hosea Sanders.

Mic drop.

I thought I would have stopped this game years ago when the 2 hour special 'Bozo, Gar & Ray' I helped produce lost to a Wisconsin's TV station's story on BBQ.

I'm done. 

No more.

That's it.

I have my Emmy.

I might only have one, but I earned it before the committee started allowing groups to win Individual Achievement Awards.

And before they added Correspondent and Narrator to the Performance category.

I have to believe that there is no category for me anymore.

And that's fine by me.

I'll save $200 on the entry fee.

(Yes, you have to pay to play.  And it really smarts when the Emmy committee get your money and you don't even get nominated.)

One more thing about the Emmy's and news.

It's pretty dumb to win an award for best news coverage for a house fire that kills a family or something tragic like that.

Seeing news teams in formal wear patting each other on the back for their stellar coverage of a families nightmare is just plain wrong to me.

"We'd like to thank that family of 4 for burning to death.  We couldn't have done this without you."

It's time to look at the bigger picture.

As long as I am having fun and making people laugh and smile, that'll always be better than another Emmy to me.

Thanks for your love and support.

Most importantly, thank you for watching.

Your loyal viewership and friendship means everything.