The Heartland EMMY® Awards Competition
Deadline Friday, February 2, 2018: 5PM MST
To enter the Heartland Emmy Awards, your work must have had its first distribution in, and have been produced primarily for, an audience in (one of) these DMAs: Denver / Oklahoma City (large markets); Tulsa / Wichita-Hutchinson / Omaha / Colorado Springs-Pueblo (medium markets); Lincoln/Hastings-Kearney / Topeka / Grand Junction-Montrose / Cheyenne-Scottsbluff / Casper-Riverton / North Platte / Durango (small markets); within the designated eligibility period. All NATAS members receive a significant discount on entry fees, especially those working in medium and small markets; you don’t have to be a member to enter the competition.
- By entering, you agree to serve as a judge when asked.
- Groups submitting more than 10 entries must include a Master List, emailed to the office, with entries, entrants, description of entries and fees/payment allocation
- Entrants are responsible for the correct spelling of all information on the entry form; a list of all entrants will be posted on the website in March. Changes/corrections/additions after the February 3 deadline will incur a $35 reprocessing fee. The Heartland Chapter will permit NO changes allowed in the listing of entrants after the announcement of nominees
- All entries must reflect the highest standard of journalistic ethics, including accuracy and truth
ENTRY STEP ONE:
Determine if your work is eligible, and choose your category, by reviewing the 2018 CALL FOR ENTRIES. Questions? Contact the office: 303.722.0916.
ENTRY STEP TWO:
Put together a complete list of people who were involved in the production, and whose names will be on the entry form – up to 12 names are allowed; only those names are eligible to receive a statue, ever. Each name incurs an entry fee – discounted for members. It helps to make sure everyone has renewed his/her membership before you enter IF you’re looking for that discount.
Entrants in the College/University Student Achievement Awards (Category 71) will pay a processing fee only (no membership discount); the Faculty Advisor must be listed on the entry form.
ENTRY STEP THREE:
Get your video clip(s) together, according to our new Upload Specs. Pay attention to the Time Limit for your category. All video must be ‘as aired.’ Composites must include a second of black between segments AND a list of segments included in the Description of Entry. What’s Time Code? – Tell us the ‘in-point’ for the 30-second clip (on your entry video) to play back at the Awards Show. Preview the How to Upload Your Video video (it’s dated, but useful).
ENTRY STEP FOUR:
Enter online using one of the two links below … then, Pay for your entry … then, Upload and Approve your video. Deadline 5PM Friday, February 2, 2018.
Group Entry Link: ONLY if your work is affiliated with one of these entities – KUSA, KCNC, OETA, RMPBS, KDVR, KWGN, KOKH, NET, KFOR, KWTV. Don’t forget to send a Master List if your organization is submitting more than 10 entries.
Individual Entry Link: If you’re entering on your own, not affiliated in any way with of one of the groups listed above. This is for all the rest of us, no matter how many entries you’re submitting. Don’t forget to send a Master List if your organization is submitting more than 10 entries.
ENTRY STEP FIVE:
Make changes to the entry form, if necessary, via the email confirmation you’ll receive as the submitter; changes may be made through February 2nd. NO changes are allowed to the video upload! Judging of our/your entries occurs during March and April. Nominations are announced early in June. EMMY® recipients will be presented at the Awards Galas on Saturday, July 14, 2018.
GENERAL RULES
PURPOSE: To recognize outstanding achievements in television and allied media by conferring annual awards of merit in the Chapter’s designated award region. The presentation of these awards is intended to be an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence for those working in the television and media industry and to focus public attention on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news, informational programming and craft achievements in television and on-line.
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, original entries must have been transmitted to the general public by a television station, a cable company, satellite, the Internet or other digital delivery medium. Digital is defined as multimedia projects that combine various forms of traditional media with social media and interactivity, as well as linear programming delivered online (over the Internet, via various mobile platforms). Eligibility is limited to digital and telecast/cablecast programming that was originally made available during the Chapter’s eligibility year. Re-purposed material is not eligible unless it is determined to have been given a new and unique treatment.
Broadcast entries must have been intended to be of ‘primary interest’ to a regional audience, within the Chapter’s designated awards area and must have had their first transmission in that awards area during the eligibility period. Entries must not have been available for viewing by more than 50% of the U.S. television homes during the eligibility year. Entries that are available to more than 50% of the U.S. television homes should be submitted to NATAS’ national awards (see exceptions).
Broadband entries must have been intended for consumption and be ‘of primary interest’ to a regional audience within the Chapter’s designated awards area. It is advised that broadband content intended for a wider audience (a national audience) be submitted for consideration in The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ national awards.
Cablecast entries are deemed available for an entire market if the cable channel on which they appear is generally available to that market, regardless of the actual number of subscribers the cable channel may have in the market.
However, entries which are specifically designed exclusively for their local market may be accepted for regional judging, even if the retransmitting of the station’s signal by cable systems make it available to more than 50% of the American television households. This may include regional newscasts or programs dealing with issues specifically related to the local community. For entries/programs that have been syndicated and aired in regional markets, the entrant(s) must provide a “carriage/distribution summary.” The summary must indicate all markets that carried the show, how many runs it had and the percentage of coverage.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE 50% RULE:
- Local station news coverage that may receive national exposure should be submitted to regional Emmy® Award competitions.
- Entries are eligible for regional competition if the treatment was of a local community issue, with the content primarily intended for distribution in the Chapter’s designated awards area. Works accepted for regional judging under this exception may not be submitted for national consideration.
- A local program that later receives national distribution may compete in both regional and national awards competitions, but not in the same eligibility year.
- Local segments that are eligible to participate as entries in national Emmy® Award competitions (i.e. News & Doc, Community & Public Service) may compete in both regional and national awards competitions under prevailing rules.
Program length commercials (infomercials) and closed circuit programs are not eligible.
Pornographic, violent, defamatory or offensive material is not accepted. The interpretation of the Awards Committee is final and absolute. Entries must be submitted as originally shown. There may not be any post-broadcast changes except as noted in the category descriptions.
No entry may be submitted to more than one Chapter’s awards. Different episodes from the same program or series can only be entered in one Chapter’s awards.
Ineligible entries may be disqualified during any phase of the competition.
ORIGINAL MATERIAL: At least two-thirds of an entry must consist of original material, unless previously produced material has been given some unique and creative treatment that, in the opinion of the Chapter Awards Committee, results in an original program. Entrants must identify all non-original or sponsored material, including its location in the program. Re-purposed material is not eligible.
ENTRY QUOTA: In order to sustain a high level of award excellence, Chapters must continue to self-regulate their entries, making sure only the appropriate individuals are recognized. To maintain this consistency, there is a maximum quota of 12 eligible names allowed on each entry. Any name(s) added beyond this number will require written authorization from the primary responsible entrant detailing the additional job title and responsibility. Chapters would then have the option of accepting these additional entrants or not.
STUDENT PRODUCTIONS: Students are not considered peer professionals and as such, their regional student productions are not eligible for Emmy® award recognition. If material is produced as part of a class, for which school credit is received, they are considered a student. If they are paid or working on a project with other “professionals,” and want to enter the Chapter’s award competition, they cannot enter as a student, but instead must pay the appropriate entries fees as an active NATAS member (or non-member). The student is then prohibited from entering subsequent student production categories with other classmates. Student award recipients from any NATAS Chapters’ high school or college competitions may not use the Emmy® name or replica of the Emmy® figure in any form of commercial advertising or promotion for their recognition.
COMPOSITES: A composite is defined as a sampling of two or more representative segments or elements that convey to a judging panel the scope, breadth, or range of an individual’s talents or of coverage of a special event. The elements within a composite, unless otherwise noted, are to be “as aired” with no internal edits or post production work, such as music or special effects. Demo reels or montages are not allowed. One to two seconds of black between cuts, with no audio or slates must be added to separate segments within the composite. Unless otherwise noted, a straight lift from a long work may be included as an element of a composite, but there must be no editing of the lift. For program entries, a composite may only contain content from one episode of the series, not multiple installments.
DOUBLE DIPPING: No single entry may be submitted in its entirety in more than one programming category.
Exceptions are given for content that was part of a full newscast, or included as an excerpt in the ‘Overall Excellence’, ‘News Excellence’, ‘Community Service’ and ‘Journalistic Enterprise’ categories. To be eligible for this exception in the newscast categories, the same entrant cannot be listed on the newscast entry and then use the same material and enter in another programming category.
If you enter a full program or episode from a series in a programming category, you cannot also enter a segment from the same show in another program category.
Content produced as both a multi-part series and a full-length program may be entered only once, regardless of the amount of new material added.
A single or multi episode full-length program, or a multi-part news series, all on the same subject, may only be entered in only one programming category. If the subject matter varies, different episodes from the same overall program series can be entered in other program categories as appropriate based on content. This exception rule does not apply to individual stories from news series.
An individual can only be recognized once for the same job function, utilizing the same program content.
Craft persons, like writers, photographers, editors, etc., are allowed to enter in programming categories if they directly contributed to the content of the program or segment, and have the permission of the primary producer. If a craft person does enter as a producer in a program category, they may enter the same content again in their respective craft category.
LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH: Spanish-language entries may be entered and will be judged by a panel of Spanish-speaking, peer judges in a separate contest from English language. The scores produced by these two panels are not combined; instead, the scores are interpreted separately for final ‘cut off’ evaluation.
Programs in languages other than English or Spanish may also be entered; however judging of these entries in their native language is subject to the availability of qualified, peer judges who speak the language of the entry. Therefore, NATAS requires that these entrants submit their entries with English subtitles or with English on a second audio channel.
MEMBERSHIP: Membership in The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is not required to enter the Emmy® Awards.
JUDGING PROCEDURE: Entries made to this Chapter will be judged by panels assembled by other NATAS Chapters. These panels should be comprised of no fewer than 7 judges who shall be certified as peers. No more than 3 judges on a panel may be employed by the same station or company. Judges may not have a conflict of interest, which is described as having a direct involvement in the production of an entry, or having a personal relationship with a member of the production staff of an entry. Group ownership, by itself, does not necessarily create a conflict of interest.
NON-COMPETITIVE JUDGING: Entries are judged against a standard of excellence and do not compete against each other. There may be one award, more than one award or no award given in each category. Any exceptions will be noted in the category description.
JUDGING REQUIREMENT: The success of the Emmy® Awards process depends on the willingness of qualified professionals to serve as judges. Peers in other NATAS Chapters are serving this Chapter’s entrants. This Chapter will judge other Chapter’s entries. By entering, you agree to serve as a judge when asked. All entries sent to judges for screening are deemed to be eligible by the Chapter whose work is being judged. For that reason, judges are required to score each entry regardless if they feel it has been placed in the wrong category or might have technical problems. Forms are available online should judges wish to challenge any entry. On challenge entries, judges are asked to score without bias, even if they believe an entry is not in an appropriate category.
INTENTIONAL FALSIFICATION: The entrant warrants that he/she/they are the party(ies) most responsible for the award-worthiness of the entry. The intentional falsification of production credits or entry credits may be the basis for disqualification.
ENTRY ERRORS AND OMISSIONS: The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences assumes no responsibility for the acts or omissions of those individuals or entities submitting entries pursuant to this notice. All submitting entities and/or individuals are advised to review submissions with respect to correct name credits and other information. NATAS shall accept all submissions that are not in conflict with any of its rules and regulations.
COPYRIGHT: Each entrant agrees that any form of analog and/or digital recording, whether it be film, tape recording, screenshot or supplemental printed material that is furnished to NATAS in connection with an entry may be retained by the National Academy for file, reference and archival purposes and may be viewed partially or in its entirety for judging purposes. All of, or portions of, said content may be used on or in connection with the awards ceremony, any broadcast/telecast and other exhibition, including internet; as well as with promotional announcements or activities for any of the foregoing. If required, the entrant is further responsible for approval and clearances to the appropriate parties for any use of this copyright material.
WHO RECEIVES THE AWARD? Producers, craft persons and other eligible entrants as listed on the entry form receive the Emmy® statuette, except where noted. To be eligible, each entrant must have significant, creative involvement in the actual production. Pre and post production involvement, including proposal/grant writing, research, fundraising, producing partnerships, etc., though necessary and of major importance is not substantial enough to be considered. They must verify in writing their “hands on” involvement in order to be listed on the entry.
You cannot be added to an awarded entry as an additional recipient, nor purchase a statuette past the Chapter’s deadline. Others who work on a nominated or recognized entry may order production certificates or plaques. Individuals who did not receive a statuette, but were eligible for production certificates and/or plaques are not considered Emmy® recipients.
CRAFTS ACHIEVEMENT: In the Crafts Achievement Awards, those who actually perform a specific discipline receive the Emmy® statuette. Supervising or directing the work of others does not qualify for Crafts Achievement Awards, except for achievements in directing categories.
AWARD OWNERSHIP: Emmy® Awards are presented to individuals, not to their employers. It is the individual entrant’s achievement that is being judged and recognized. Ownership of the Emmy® statuette is retained by the individuals and The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, even if an employer pays entry fees.
COMMEMORATIVE STATUETTES: Stations, studios and production companies may order a commemorative statuette for public display at their place of business (up to a maximum of three per awarded entry). The statuette is engraved the same as the actual Emmy® Award, with the word “commemorative” added on the rear of the statuette. No additional or special wording is allowed.
PROMOTION: All publicity, advertising or any written reference undertaken by nominees and award recipients to the Emmy® Awards, must clearly state that the awarded achievement is for a Regional Emmy® Award. The word ‘Regional’ must appear in these instances. The recipient of a nomination or an Emmy® Award may refer in advertising and publicity to the fact that they have been honored for one year after the recognition was bestowed. They may use a replica of the Emmy® statuette in such advertising. Individuals who significantly contributed to the production or craft, but were not honored with a statuette, cannot specifically advertise they are an Emmy® award recipient. They can only state they worked on the recognized program. The statuette itself may not be reproduced or used in any other commercial manner without written permission from NATAS. A ® registration mark and the appropriate copyright notice: © NATAS/Television Academy must accompany any portrayal of the Emmy® statuette or moniker.
Double-Dipping Defined
To avoid any confusion, the basic formula for “double-dipping” is the following:
An individual entrant can only been recognized once for the same job function, utilizing the same program content.
Craft persons, like writers, photographers, editors, etc., are allowed to enter in programming categories if they directly contributed to the content of the program or segment, and have the permission of the primary producer. If a craft person does enter as a producer in a program category, they may enter the same content again in their respective craft category. Examples:
- If a craft person is a writer/photographer, they could enter the program category as only the writer and then the photographer craft category.
- If they are not an entrant on the program entry, they could enter either the writer or photographer category, using the same material since they performed different job functions.
- If they list themselves as both writer and photographer on the program entry, they are ineligible to enter either the writer or photographer craft categories.
- They cannot enter either craft category using the dual job title since one category is only for writer and the other only for photographer.
No single entry may be submitted in its entirety in more than one programming category. Exceptions are given for content that was part of a full newscast, or included as an excerpt in the “Station Excellence,” “News Excellence,” “Community Service,” and “Journalistic Enterprise” categories.
To be eligible for this exception in the newscast categories, the same entrant cannot be listed on the newscast entry and then use the same material and enter in another programming category. Example:
- An investigative reporter is listed on a newscast entry. Under this “double-dipping” rule, a portion of the newscast content could be entered in “Investigative Report,” but the same reporter cannot be listed since their name already appeared on the newscast entry.
You cannot enter the same material in both news and program categories.
A single or multi episode full-length program all on the same subject may be entered in only one programming category. If the subject matter varies, different episodes from the same overall program series can be entered in other program categories as appropriate based on its content. This exception rule does not apply to individual stories from news series Examples:
- Your entry is a four-part series, Saving the Bay. Part one of the series is entered in the “Informational/Instructional” category. Part three cannot be entered in the “Environment” category.
- Your program is called Community Weekly, an on-going weekly series. Though it is basically a “Public Affairs” series, episode 204 may be about music, episode 216 about sports, while other episodes are more generic. Under our rules, episode 204 could be entered in an “Entertainment” category, while episode 216 could be in “Sports.” Episode 222 could stay in “Public Affairs.”
Content produced as both a multi-part series and a full-length program may be entered only once, regardless of the amount of new material added. Example:
- An investigative team does a three-part series within a newscast on gun control. Once the three parts have aired, and the same material re-purposed as a news special, the team would need to decide if they should enter the original series or the special, not both.
If you enter a full program or episode from a series in a programming category, you cannot also enter a segment from the same show in another category.
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