UA educator and television station garner multiple Emmy nominations

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has recognized Dr. Phil Hoffman of the School of Communication at The University of Akron with four 2010 Emmy nominations for “Turn Blue: The Short Life of Ghoulardi.”

“Turn Blue” earned the Emmy nominations in the Lower Great Lakes chapter of NATAS’ competition for 2010.  The awards ceremony will be June 19 in Cleveland.

“Turn Blue” tells the story of legendary Cleveland announcer Ernie Anderson’s three-year on-air stint as “Ghoulardi,” the character that set the standard for horror movie hosts around the country. The film includes interviews with legendary Cleveland TV personalities Big Chuck Schodowski and Bob “Hoolihan” Wells, as well as perspectives from pop culture writers such as R.D. Heldenfels, Tom Feran, Mark Dawidziak, and Professor Robert Thompson of the Center for the Study of TV and Pop Culture.

When the film debuted on Western Reserve Public Media in October 2009, it set records as one of the highest rated local programs ever in the 40-year-history of the public television station.

An award-winning producer and director who resides in Wadsworth, Ohio, Hoffman is the general manager of Z-TV, a student-run television station housed in UA’s School of Communication. Z-TV is partnered with WZIP-FM, the nation’s top-rated student-run radio station.

In addition to the nominations for Hoffman, NATAS has recognized Z-TV with two 2010 Emmy nominations for the station’s “Lowdown” and “Z-TV NewsSource” programs. This is the fourth consecutive year that Z-TV programs have received Emmy nominations.

Earlier this year, Z-TV’s “Akron After Hours” program received a Telly Award and a Communicator Award from the international Academy of Visual Arts.

Z-TV programming can be seen on Time Warner Cable of Northeast Ohio, as well as on more than 4,000 campuses worldwide as part of The Open Student Television Network. To see the Emmy-nominated programs, visit Z-TV or Time Warner Cable’s Ohio On Demand channel 501.

To learn more about “Turn Blue: The Short Life of Ghoulardi,” visit Western Reserve Public Media’s web site.

You also can read a production blog that detais the process of making the film.

Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.