The Chicago/Midwest Chapter is chartered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), which is based in New York City.
The chapter’s Officers, Board of Governors, and committee chairs are industry professionals from our region who volunteer their time. There are several different committees that are always in need of talented and energetic people.
Our Chapter was founded in 1958 after an expansion call by then National President, Ed Sullivan. We are one of the largest and most senior local chapters in the country, with a proud history of innovation and excellence in the field of broadcast television and beyond. The chapter produces the Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy® Awards. The Awards are presented annually for outstanding achievements in regional broadcasting.
Responsible for judging high school entries and scholarship applicants. Work with Coordinator of TV Academy’s Student Coordinator to promote our programs to regional schools. Fundraise for the 501(c)3 NATAS Chicago Foundation.
Responsible for revising Emmy® rules and categories; setting up panels to judge other Chapters’ Emmy® entries; processing; and certifying local entries.
Responsible for planning, overseeing and producing the Emmy® Awards event under the guidance of the Board of Governors.
Responsible for organizing free screenings or virtual of new films for TV Academy members.
Responsible for member services, recruitment, and development of member discounts and benefits.
Responsible for publicity for TV Academy Chicago/Midwest events. Responsible for updating and authoring of Chapter website content and chapter social media.
Responsible for producing the Silver Circle Awards which honors individuals who have 25 or more years in Chicago and Wisconsin television (or spent their formative years here) and have made significant contributions to broadcasting.
Responsible for designing workshops that will be of interest to our current members while also attracting new members.
Interested in volunteering
for a committee?
Please email
rcowing@emmyonline.tv
December 31, 2021
Dear NATAS Chicago/Midwest members:
I would like to wish a Happy New Year to all of you, as our board and our chapter prepares for an active 2022.
2022 is a year of hope for the NATAS Chicago/Midwest chapter, as we look forward to the real possibility of being back in public with you at our major events, including the 2022 Silver Circle Honors Presentation in the late spring and the Emmys® in late fall. We know that the Emmys® and the Silver Circle Awards are meant to be celebrated live and in person. These events are the highlights of the broadcast season for me, just as I know they are for many of you. That said, we will always cautious when it comes to public events during this pandemic. So we will always be aware any alarming trends involving Covid 19.
The new year is also one of hope and change for our overseeing office, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, headquartered in New York City. Our National office oversees Chicago/Midwest and 18 other regional chapters and is responsible for the Daytime, News and Documentary and Sports Emmys®.
In 2022, National is launching a new awards ceremony — the Children & Family Emmys®. And National continues to work closely with the L.A.-based Television Academy (which administers the Primetime Emmys®), as the two organizations have realigned the Primetime and Daytime Emmy® Awards competition, with an emphasis on prioritizing content genre over program scheduling. This is the most significant collaboration between NATAS and the Television Academy since 1977, when the two organizations split to become separate entities.
Our Chicago/Midwest chapter begins 2022 as it ended 2021 — virtually. We will be staging at least one virtual workshop a month starting on Jan. 8, when we partner with the National Association of Black Journalists for the Zoom-based webinar, “Storytelling the Black Experience”. It is the first of a number of co-sponsored virtual events with other like-minded organizations, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists. We may ultimately consider planning live or hybrid workshops as well in the coming months, depending on current health events.
Our Junior Board will also continue its weekly podcast, “The Pursuit,” a series of interviews conducted by Junior Board members, who will talk to established members of our broadcast community about a variety of subjects. This fascinating series has produced incredible interviews with established members of our broadcast community.
The NATAS Chicago/Midwest Junior Board was one of our chapter’s major initiatives in 2021, The Junior Board, which had its first meetings last spring, is comprised of 30 students and young professionals, all under the age of 26, who either attend school or work in one of the chapter’s eight television markets: Chicago, Peoria-Bloomington, and Rockford in Illinois, South Bend-Elkhart in Indiana, and Green Bay-Appleton, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau-Rhinelander in Wisconsin.
They now work with the NATAS Chicago/Midwest Board of Governors in the chapter’s mission to advance and promote broadcasting and excellence in visual media in the region. The Junior Board, however, is explicitly tasked with engaging younger members of our broadcast industry.
In addition to the podcast, this group will also be working with our Education Committee in 2022, executing an outreach plan to schools in the city and suburbs, with diversity in reach being the ultimate goal. Other committees will be involved in a more robust social media presence for the chapter moving forward.
Our other primary mission is to identify and foster future talent, through the NATAS Chicago Foundation, which provides scholarships to deserving high school and college students who are studying or intend to study journalism, broadcast television, television production and communications. Deadlines to apply for our annual scholarships are fast approaching — the deadline to apply for College and Graduate Scholarships is on Feb. 18, while the High School and National scholarships are in March. Please visit our website for more information.
We are looking forward to serving you in 2022. And hopefully, we can be together for our spotlight events soon! In the meantime, please continue to visit our website for any news about our chapter.
May you all have a happy and healthy 2022!
Sincerely,
John Owens
President
NATAS Chicago/Midwest Chapter
jowens@emmyonline.tv
WACY (MyNetworkTV)
WBAY (ABC 2)
WFRV (CBS 5)
WGBA (NBC 26)
WCWF (CW 14)
WLUK (FOX 11)
WISC-TV (CBS 3)
Wisconsin Public TV
WKOW (ABC 27)
WMSN (FOX 47)
WMTV (NBC 15)
WCGV
WDJT (CBS 58)
WISN (ABC 12)
WITI (FOX 6)
WMLW
WMVS (PBS Milwaukee)
WTMJ (TMJ 4 NBC)
WVCY
WFXS (FOX 55)
WAOW (ABC 9)
WJFW (NBC 12)
WSAW (CBS 7)
TLN
WBBM (CBS 2)
WCPX (ION)
WCIU
WFLD (FOX 32)
WGBO (Univision)
WGN
WJYS
WLS (ABC 7)
WMAQ (NBC 5)
WSNS (Telemundo)
WTTW
WAOE (MyNetworkTV)
WEEK/WHOI (NBC/ABC/CW+)
WMBD/WYZZ (CBS/Fox)
WTVP (Public Media for Central Illinois)
WIFR (CBS 23)
WQRF (FOX 39)
WREX (NBC 13)
WTVO (ABC 17)
WBND (ABC 57)
WNDU (NBC 15)
WNIT (Michiana PBS)
WSBT (CBS 22)
WYIN (Lakeshore Public Television)
The mission of NATAS Chicago Foundation is to provide scholarships to deserving high school and college students who are studying or intend to study journalism, broadcast television, television production and communications. The foundation is the charitable arm of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) - Chicago/Midwest Chapter, Inc. and is a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Chicago/Midwest Chapter’s scholarship program has distributed more than $560,000 in scholarships to students since the mid-1990s. We are one of the strongest NATAS chapters in the nation in regard to scholarship funds distributed.
Past Chicago/Midwest scholarship recipients include NBC’s Peter Alexander, WGN’s Michael Lowe, ABC7 Chicago’s Jessica D’Onoforio and Jesse Kirsch, WNDU’s Joshua Short, WDJT’s Drew Burgoyne, and NBC6 Miami’s Laura Rodriguez.
You can use the PayPal Donate button:
Or scan the following code with the PayPal mobile app:
To make a scholarship fund donation by check, send to:
NATAS Chicago/Midwest Chapter
c/o Columbia College, Communication Dept
33 East Ida B. Wells Dr., Ste. 535
Chicago, IL 60605
Checks should be made out to:
NATAS Chicago Foundation
Upon receipt, an acknowledgment letter of the donation will be mailed to the donor.
The Foundation accepts donations from individuals and/or corporations on an ongoing basis.
The Chicago/Midwest Chapter is chartered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), which is based in New York City.
The chapter’s Officers, Board of Governors, and committee chairs are industry professionals from our region who volunteer their time. There are several different committees that are always in need of talented and energetic people.