2012 NY EMMY AWARDS BRING OUT ELECTION CONCERN

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Posted on October 23, 2012 by theravireport

Influential & high profiled media guests mingled with their colleagues at the NY Emmy Awards

New York– The 33rd News and Documentary Emmy Awards recently held at the prestigious Frederick P. Rose Hall home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in NY, has always been one of the most anticipated and well-respected media events of the year. Over 900 guests including high profiled media executives, famous news anchors, beautiful and sexy reporters, producers and writers from all the major networks came to support their co-workers vying for the most prestigious accolade in television- The Emmy.

Presented by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the awards are more than just about winning or recognizing top talent in television. They are also about bringing awareness to social and international issues that are reported in the news daily. PBS led all networks (Romney, are you listening?) with nine awards and ABC and CBS News tied for seven awards each. The NBC News team took home three Emmys while CNN and CNN/I, Discovery Channel and HBO each took home two. The National Geographic Channel, Science Channel, Showtime and The New York Times all took home one Emmy.

The one story that was the topic of conversation at the event that almost everyone spoke about is… you guessed it – the presidential election.

From the star-studded cocktail party to the exclusive press room, President Obama and Governor Romney were mentioned in conversation after conversation.

Ravi Yande with Univision Emmy Award recipient Maria Elena Salinas

“The Latino vote is crucial in this presidential election,” stated the beautiful and very intelligent Maria Elena Salinas, news anchor for Univision who along with her co-anchor, the debonair and talented Jorge Ramos were presented with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Emmy by the stunning ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer for their contribution to the world of news reporting. Salinas spoke exclusively to The Ravi Report about her win and the upcoming election.

RR: It is so nice to see you Maria. Congrats to you and Jorge for the Emmy honor. It is so well deserved. With the election fast upon us, how important is the Latino vote in this presidential election?

SALINAS: Oh boy, so important! Do you think a presidential candidate would sit down in a forum for a Spanish interview with an audience having the world watching knowing that they are going to be issues that are going to be very delicate to the Latino community, if they didn’t really want the Latino vote? Every serious candidate knows how important the Latino vote is and they cannot win without it and they know it!”

Univision’s Maria Elena Salinas and Jorge Ramos pose for The Ravi Report

RR: The Lifetime Achievement is indeed a top recognition for your decades of hard work and dedication. What does the honor mean to you personally?

Salinas: We are the first Hispanic team ever to receive this tremendous honor. News is news and journalism is journalism no matter what language you deliver it in and we are so honored about this recognition for our work and dedication to the Spanish-speaking communities.

RR: The women in the Latino communities I spoke to said that you are a role model for them and their hope for the future. Your thoughts?

SALINAS: That is so nice.. thank you so much. We have developed a close connection with our audiences over the years. We are like their link to their home country, language, people and friends and we talk to them about everything. We are for them.

The beautiful CBS reporter Lara Logan poses with Ravi Yande at the NY Emmys.

Award-winning journalist and top newsman Bob Costas needs no introduction. The youthful anchor knows his craft and has done amazing award-winning interviews for the past three decades. Costas won an Emmy for his compelling interview with Jerry Sandusky which aired on “Rock Center with Brian Williams”.

2012 Emmy winner Bob Costas poses for The Ravi Report

RR: It’s a pleasure to meet you Bob. Congrats on the Emmy. If I may ask, what went through your mind as a person and a father rather than a journalist when you were interviewing Sandusky for the first time?

COSTAS:I tried to concentrate almost entirely on the journalistic aspect. I did not betray any reaction of my own and

I thought the audience should be able to be presented with the facts which in this case were his answers

however one interpreted them to the questions and the audience could make their own judgments. So I thought it was my job to ask whatever were the pertinent questions at least as how they occurred to me and then let the chips fall where they may and let the audience draw their own conclusion not provide any commentary of my own.

Ravi Yande poses with Bob Costas

RR: Was it at all challenging for you when you were speaking to Sandusky knowing what he was accused of?

COSTAS: It was not difficult to be quite honest to put aside any personal reaction to what he had been accused of doing at that point and what is seemed likely what he had done and now he has been convicted of doing. You do your job as a professional and I was just trying to bear down on the facts of the matter and I was well prepared to do the interview. I was trying to listen as intently as I could to his responses so that I wouldn’t be simply following question 5 to question 6.

RR: You are a staple in the world of sports reporting and have given the viewers some top rated interviews. You also do mainstream news stories. What are some significant changes you would like to see in sports news?

COSTAS: More and more there is an understanding that sports topics are news worthy and they can be covered journalistically and I don’t think that is happens enough. HBO & ESPN do a lot of journalistic stories and

they do a very good job of that and when the networks put their minds to it, they can cover sports the same way.

Brian Ross, the eminent and well-respected ABC news anchor and his producing team won an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine ABC News 20/20 – Brian Ross Investigates: Peace Corps – A Trust Betrayed.

ABC News anchor Brian Ross with producer Anne Schecter posing for The Ravi Report

RR: Brian, always a privilege to meet you and congrats on another great honor. Tell me a little bit about the emotional and compelling part of putting this award-winning story together.

ROSS: Thank you. It was extremely emotional(pauses). Sometimes I still think about the courage of the women

who came forward and described…even before they told anyone even their parents…how they had been raped and abused by Peace Corps volunteers. Then for the parents of the young girl who was killed in Africa…they felt something had gone wrong. It is a great institution but they(Peace Corps) lost their way.

RR: What was the outcome of the story?

ROSS: It led to legislation which gave the Peace Corps volunteer rights which they did not have before to be respected as whistle blowers and names kept secrets…which didn’t happen before either.

RR: What message do you want the world to take away from this powerful story?

ROSS: The larger message for me always and for most of the stories I do is that people should tell the truth even if it is against powerful people and speak out and speak up.

New York award-winning local news ABC local news reporter NJ Burkett has been one of the most well-respected and popular journalist at NY Eyewitness News for years. I’ve been watching Burkett a long time and his stories are compelling, thought-provoking and often bring awareness to social and national issues. Burkett was one of the distinguished presenters at the show.

RR: NJ, nice to see you tonight. You briefly mentioned in your speech the importance of local news and its connection to the national level. Can you elaborate a bit more on how you feel the two are connected?

BURKETT: The national networks do such a great job of getting those very important stories on the air for the national audiences. But it is easy to lose the sight of the fact that many of these stories began at the local level. Many of these stories are researched and broken by local reporters at local TV stations and newspapers. The networks have luxury of time and big budgets and local reporters don’t have those luxuries. They often have to work on very short deadlines and tight budgets with very little help.

RR: It sounds like local news reporting has become sort of one man operation!

WPIX anchor/host Marvin Scott with NJ Burkett pose exclusively for The Ravi Report

BURKETT: You are so right. That’s why I made my point about local news on stage. Sometimes reporters use their own money to get the story. It is extremely kind that the National Academy make these sorts of stories known to the rest of the industry and sometimes I even think the industry forgets where a lot of these stories come from.

RR: Viewers have a strong and inner connection with their local news as you know very well with your excellent reporting over the years. As a seasoned journalist, do you see it changing with all the new accessible technology? Is that strong sense of local connection diminishing or getting stronger?

BURKETT: If anything I see we now have a greater connection with the local audience through social media in particular. I have a twitter and Facebook account and people are using those kinds of connections in ways to get to us now more so then before. I love the feedback I get from viewers. We air a story and get comments right away.

RR: What are your thoughts about the importance of New Yorkers voting in the upcoming Presidential elections?

BURKETT: I think both political campaigns have written off NY. Because it’s a “blue state” and you are not seeing to many political ads like you are in Ohio and Florida. I think people are not getting a sense of their message. NY and NJ folks are very news savvy and they are watching the coverage very carefully on their local news stations. 60 percent of registered voters get their news from local news and I am so glad to be part of it for so many years.

For a complete listing of 2012 Emmy winners, please log onto www.emmyonline.com.

The journey continues….and congrats to all the 2012 News & Doc Emmy winners!

Ravi

Larry King Receives Lifetime Emmy, Wants to be Frozen & Loves The LA Dodgers!

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Posted on December 6, 2011 by theravireport

Emmy Award-winning Larry King poses exclusively for The Ravi Report

Larry King wants to be frozen and is considering being a part owner of the LA Dodgers- yeah, the iconic broadcaster has been busy lately folks!

But let’s first let’s talk about one of the best listeners and observers in television and radio receiving his Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. The world-famous broadcaster with the gift to get people to open up about their lives, was recently honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for his five decades of service in the broadcasting and radio industries. The gala took place at the famed Jazz at Lincoln Center venue in NYC. The award was presented to King by NBC highly popular newsman, Brian Williams.

CNN’s “Larry King Live” was the highest rated and most watched show on the network for over two decades bringing in world-wide famous celebrities, leaders and politicians, many of whom were first time guests on the Cable News Network.

Even after King retired in December 2010, the suspenders- wearing family man is still in demand with celebrities, world leaders and politicians. King’s recent and exclusive interview with Johnny Depp for CNN is a prime example of the kind of special appeal that King has with celebrities.

Ravi Yande poses with Larry King backstage at NY Emmy Awards

Friends who came to celebrate the honor included world-famous CNN medical host Dr. Sanjay Gupta (Gupta was just as kind and humble in person as he appears on TV folks!) several CNN producers, past employers and many, many family and friends.

The broadcasting legend wears many hats- best-selling author, father, husband and friend who shows no signs of slowing down at 78.

King spent 25 years at CNN where he conducted over 50,000 interviews while boosting the network in ratings. In his spare time (does he even have any?) he oversees his Larry King Cardiac Foundation, an organization that helps fund people in need of heart surgery. King suffered a major heart attack in 1987 which required bypass surgery. His own father passed away at the age of 44 of a heart attack. For more information on the foundation, visit www.lkcf.org.

With thousands of interviews, countless stories and best-selling books ( his book Larry King, A Remarkable Journey is a must read folks!), King has for decades kept the world informed through his thought-provoking, laconic and non-confrontational ways of interviewing everyone from world leaders to ordinary citizens which grace, style and sophistication.

Larry King speaking to Ravi Yande about his Emmy win (photo courtesy of The Creative Brainstorm)

I have been a long time admirer and have so enjoyed watching the legend get the most reserved, shy and reclusive individuals to open up to him about their lives, personal issues and struggles. King’s intelligent interviewing style has appealed to millions of viewers across the world and to his guests that often want to come back again and again knowing they will be treated fairly.

Larry King spoke exclusively to The Ravi Report about his win and a bit about his personal life as well.

RR: Mr. King, it is indeed an honor and a privilege to meet you. Congratulations on the Emmy. It is so well deserved. Please tell me what your secret to such a prodigious career has been?

LK: Thank you. Well, I think Bill Clinton said it best in the program tonight…The New Yorker did a story on me and they called it “Street Questions”…I was always every man… I didn’t go to college…I was just a guy asking the questions…I think people associate with me...I think the guy on the street would have said ” I would have asked that”…I don’t think I was ever above anyone.

Larry King and wife Shawn Southwick-King smile for The Ravi Report

RR: A demanding and ambitious career often comes with both successes and sacrifices. Looking back now, is there something that you felt you sacrificed for the sake of your rewarding career?

LK: Well, for a long time and for those that know me…honestly, I was not a good father. I put too much emphasis on work and I learned a lesson for it. Now, I have two little children that I spend more time with. Nothing is more important than family.

RR: It sounds like family time is very imperative to you.

LK: Everything else is secondary-children and your wife are first. You love your children no matter what they do or no matter what happens to them. Your child becomes President of the United States or ends up in prison, if you are the father of either one, you love them both the same.

The ravishing Shawn Southwick-King was by her husband’s side during the honor and summed up her own personal thoughts about King in one sentence.

The Kings pose backstage for the excited paparazzi

SSL– We are each others strength and that is so important to me.

Interesting facts about Larry King:

1. Born November 19, 1933 in Brooklyn NY.

2. When King was 9 years old, his father Edward Zeigler died of heart disease. The family had to struggle financially and the death effected King emotionally.

2. Changed birth name Lawrence Harvey Zeiger to Larry King during his first radio show in Miami in 1957.

3.King married 8 times, twice to the same lady. Current wife is the beautiful Shawn Southwick-King mother of their two children Chance 12, and Cannon age 11.

4. “Larry King Live ” on CNN became the first international TV call-in show and the highest rated talk show on the air for years.

King has won to many awards to list but here are just a few noteworthy ones that have been mentioned quite often in the media:

Guests& celebrities mingled while enjoying the Central Park view at the Jazz at Lincoln Center

1. The Peabody Award for Excellence in broadcasting for both his radio (1982) and television (1992) shows.

2. King won ten CableAce Awards for Best Interviewer and for Best Talk Show Series.

3. In 1989, King was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and in 1996 into the Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame.

4. In June 1998, King received an Honorary Degree from Brooklyn College, City University of New York for his life achievements.

Ok, now for the frozen part. King is still very active with CNN and is doing celebrity specials among other projects for the network. In his first show entitled “Dinner With The Kings” that aired on Dec. 4, the legend sat down with wife Shawn and celebrities Conan O’Brien, Tyra Banks, Shaquille O’Neal, Seth MacFarlane, Jack Dorsey, Quincy Jones and Russell Brand to discuss everything from insecurities, friendships to well…being frozen.

“I want to be frozen on the hope that they’ll find whatever I died of and bring me back,” Larry King tells his guests at his swanky Beverly Hills home.

Regarding the L.A. Dodgers and ownership, the life long fan and season ticket holder has offered a bid as part of an investor group to possibly own the franchise. It would be King’s first ownership of a professional sports team.

The journey continues and for one energetic Larry King- it gets even better!

Ravi