The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Suncoast Chapter honored WUCF TV, Central Florida’s PBS station, with four Suncoast Regional Emmy® nominations. WUCF’s Meet the Helpers initiative was nominated in the Children/Youth (12 and under) Short Form Content category, while the locally produced Grr-ific Neighbors special was nominated in the Children/Youth (12 and under) Long Form Content category. The NewsNight Conversations special on Mental Health was nominated in the Interview Discussion category. In the Historical Documentary category, Marching Forward earned a nomination.
“These nominations show the diverse nature of content WUCF produces locally,” said Jennifer Cook, WUCF interim executive director. “As Central Florida’s Storytellers we want to share stories that appeal to everyone in our community and being recognized for doing that is an honor. This is content that is showing to have a positive impact on the lives of families here in Central Florida and that is the core of what we do as a community-focused public media station.”
About each of the nominations:
- WUCF’s Meet the Helpers initiative developed videos that include a mental health counselor, a youth helper, a line worker, and a scientist who discusses the importance of vaccines. Previous videos in this series include firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, paramedics, meteorologists, and 9-1-1 operators.
- In GRR-IFIC Neighbors, viewers celebrated what it means to be a caring neighbor with music, story time and at-home activities.
- The special edition of NewsNight Conversations focused on mental health and the wide range of people who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of experts and journalists examined how the events of the past year have affected individuals and the community.
- Marching Forward tells the story of two dedicated high school band directors—one black, one white—were inspired by music to cross the color lines of segregation and work together for the sake of their students. This courageous cooperation resulted in the experience of a lifetime for both black and white students traveling from the Deep South to the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is a nonprofit Florida corporation dedicated to excellence in television and offers the annual Regional Emmy Awards to television markets in the entire State of Florida; Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and New Orleans, La.; Mobile, Ala.; Thomasville, Ga.; and Puerto Rico.
To watch or learn more about WUCF, visit wucf.org/.
