Contacts:
Mark Oggel, Communications Office
760-744-1150 ext. 2152
Pat Hahn, Associate Professor, Radio and TV
760-744-1150 ext. 2964
Lisa Cecere, Associate Professor, Cinema
760-744-1150, ext. 2675
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE With photo and cutlines
SAN MARCOS (June 6, 2006) -- “And the Emmys go to ...
Palomar College students Abigail Palisoc and Christen
Fisher, for their production of North County News,”
announced Lean Lewis of KUSI-TV to more than 300
professional TV news journalists.
Moments later, Palisoc and Fisher were on stage last
Saturday night (June 3) at the Omni San Diego Hotel
accepting the Emmys as the best college TV news producers in
the Pacific Southwest Region.
The event, Emmy 2006, was the 32nd annual Emmy event of the
Pacific Southwest region of the National Academy of
Television Arts & Sciences. The region includes San Diego
County and the television markets of Bakersfield, Oxnard,
Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa
Maria, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev. These were North County
News’ first Emmy nominations and wins since the news
program’s inception in fall 2005. Palomar College’s total
student Emmy awards over the years now stand at 23.
The award for “outstanding student achievement -- news” was
bestowed upon Palisoc and Fisher for producing Palomar’s own
student-produced, regional TV newscast. North County News
provides real-world training for students, who produce
in-depth coverage. This includes crime headlines along with
human interest stories that affect the more than 600,000
residents in the area. It is cablecast as a weekly half-hour
program to more than 350,000 homes on Cox channel 16,
Adelphia channel 67, and KOCT channels 18 and 19.
Palomar’s Radio and TV Program students work as reporters,
editors, writers, photojournalist and producers for the
program, and learn by doing. In the spring semester, the
reporters covered hard hitting news stories, such as the
plane crash at Palomar Airport and the infant hostage story
in Escondido. NCN was the first news team on the scene and
captured the unfolding drama that ended when Escondido
police were forced to shoot and kill the suspect.
Reporter Austin Hill was nominated for an Emmy for his
behind-the-scenes story about the individuals on North
County street corners spinning promotional signs. His story
Sign Spinners gave North County viewers a new perspective on
these individuals and their effect on the local business
climate. Hill maintained a full-time school schedule in
addition to working 20-30 hours a week on North County News.
In addition to this year’s Emmy nominations and wins, North
County News students were voted the best student TV
reporters in California by the Journalism Association of
Community Colleges. The first-, second- and third-place
awards for “outstanding TV news journalism” went to
Christina Portuguez --Breast Cancer, Abigail Palisoc -- New
Haven School for Boys, and Austin Hill -- Sign Spinners.
Entries were submitted from 50 California Community
Colleges.
Brad Gardner, a 2005 Palomar Radio/TV graduate, received an
Emmy in the professional category of “health/science --
program special” for his production of the TV show Horse
Vet. Gardner won a student Emmy in 2004.
Palomar College has two TV news courses students can enroll
in: RTV 240 TV News, which produces Primetime Palomar, and
RTV 197 Advanced TV News, which produces North County News.
The Radio and TV Program has 18 TV broadcast courses
students can attend, which can lead to an associate in arts
degree or certificate in RTV or Digital Media.
The purpose of the Emmy awards is to recognize outstanding
achievement in television by conferring annual awards of
merit in the region. The annual presentation is intended to
be an incentive for continued pursuit of excellence for
those working in television and to focus public attention on
outstanding cultural, educational, technological,
entertainment, news and informational achievement in
television. The NATAS website is www.nataspsw.com.
Photo cutlines: Palomar College Radio/TV students at the
student Emmy Awards event at the Omni San Diego Hotel.
Faculty adviser Pat Hahn is second from right.