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NATAS President, Adam Sharp Talks On Daytime Emmy Review Findings & Plans For Change To Competition Process

Courtesy/NATAS

In the aftermath of the letter that was sent to NATAS from daytime drama executives and producers demanding immediate change to the Daytime Emmys contest procedures, guidelines, or they would boycott participating in the upcoming 46th Annual competition, earlier today NATAS and its new president, Adam Sharp, released the findings of an independent investigation into the allegations levied against the academy and its annual competition.

After the full findings came to light , seemed to address most of the concerns raised by the four network soaps, Michael Fairman TV spoke with Adam Sharp to dive into what the reports means for change and evolution of the Daytime Emmys, and if it can resolve the issues so that General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Days of our Lives will come to the table and participate in the only kudofest honoring excellence in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes for daytime programming,

Here’s what Adam had to say about the key points addressed in our conversation below.

Transparency was a key issue noted by the soap producers in their concerns levied against NATAS.   One of the points centered around if NATAS had prior knowledge of the winners before the opening of the envelopes at the ceremony and the integrity of the contest.  What can you detail what the investigation found?

ADAM:  On the matter of whether anyone had prior knowledge to the winners, the reports clearly state that there is no evidence to support that. To the concern raised on the arm’s length distance necessary between us and the accountants we use to tally the votes, again there is no evidence to suggest that there was anything short of what you would expect of the standards of the competition. What it did find was that there were processes that either by virtue of generosity and us trying to be helpful when they asked, or by a lack of documentation to make people aware of policies and procedures, that created the appearance of unfairness, or unbalance in the process that may have been completely unintentional.  For example, the report noted that we did not have a published procedure for appealing decisions or filing any concerns or complains.  Some of this started because of one entrant in a digital category that raised concerns, and it was certainly elevated when the four soaps sent their letter, but without a published procedure, you’re really putting the onus on the entrants to know who to call and how to bring their concern.  So, that creates a system where there’s an imbalance because someone who doesn’t know who to call, doesn’t get the same hearing.  Likewise, if someone has made a mistake or technical error in their entry, and they happen to have entered the process early, and we catch it, we, in the past, have gone back to people and said, “Hey, I don’t think you intended to do this.  Would you like to resubmit?”  But if someone is entering at 11:59:59 on deadline night, they won’t necessarily have that.  Again, completely unintentional, but it could be argued that it created an imbalance or bias in the process, and the report made that clear.  For those types of things, we are going to crack down and be more consistent about our policies.  I told Brent and David that it’s going to mean saying no a lot more often in terms of giving waivers and extensions, and the types of things that we have done in the past to help people along. It is going to mean being more transparent and public about what our policies and procedures are so that every entrant has the equal set of knowledge to work from.

Courtesy/NATAS

Does this mean a demotion for David Michaels, Senior VP Daytime Emmy Awards?

ADAM:  Absolutely not.  That’s something that I want to put a very strong pin in right here.  David led the 2018 Daytime Emmys to record participation and a growing audience.  This new resourcing of the team allows him to be more singularly focused on doubling down on that success for 2019.  The Daytime Emmys are the only entertainment award show to have posted year-over-year audience growth from 2017 to 2018, and more than 30% increase in the number of entries.  The report rightly noticed that we did not do enough administratively to scale to that growth and to bring the resources to manage that added audience, and that added interest from competitors.  So, now we are going to make sure that David and Brent Stanton (Executive Director, Daytime Emmy Awards) each have the support and focus they need to be successful.

When the letter from various soap producers pointed out a “conflict of interest” for having the executive producer of the Daytime Emmys ceremony also be the awards administrator, many were wondering how that would shake out, or how NATAS planned to deal with this complaint.

ADAM:  Obviously, “conflict of interest” is a legal term of course, but I think that what the reports found was that it was not a conflict of interest.  It was a conflict of time, and many of the more specific errors that were raised in the report, as I said to David, occurred in the 25th hour of the day.  So, that is where it was really a resourcing problem, and a lack of procedure and policy problem.  The lack of resourcing created the environment for something to go wrong, and the lack of policy and procedure created an ad hoc nature for how we address those problems and made that ad hoc response open to questions because there was no prior documentation that this was how these things should be handled.  So, hopefully we have addressed each of these areas going into 2019, and that gives us a chance at a fresh start with the community.

 

Courtesy/NATAS

In response to the internal investigation findings, you mentioned you would bring additional resources to the Daytime Emmys, additional help in the operations, and you would add a “second pair of eyes”.  Would you potentially let people know who is in those positions that would be working with David Michaels and Brent Stanton?

ADAM:  Yes, so we are absolutely at a minimum committed to adding one full time position, and a handful of part time positions for that initial vetting process of the competition; that review of entries to make sure they meet the technical requirements, rules, and guidelines of their categories.  Now, in the past, there would be one individual, one set of eyes conducting that review, but now, we are modifying our policies such that before any adverse decision is made, such as disqualifying an entry, a second pair of eyes review it and give their independent assessment of the technical criteria and qualifications of the entry, so that there can be more confidence that multiple perspectives were employed before making any decision that could have an adverse effect on an entry.

Could a daytime drama actor participate and submit their work on n their own without the show being a part of it, if let’s say, the soaps won’t participate as a whole? And on that note, what would be the plans moving forward for the Daytime Emmys if the soaps decide not to participate in the competition?

ADAM:  If an actor or actress wishes to enter on their own with their soap still not participating: our rules permit anyone to enter independent of their program.  So, there is not a requirement that a show participate for an individual performer on that show to participate.  That said, they need to have the actual material to submit, and certainly a performer on that show is not necessarily the owner of that show and the owner of that content.  So, the question of whether they would have the necessary access to and rights to the video material to submit, that would be a question to the show producers as to what they would allow of that. In terms of the Daytime Emmy ceremonies moving forward without the soaps, the old saying goes, ‘the show must go on,’ and hopefully, it won’t come to that.  We have had constructive conversations with each of the broadcast soaps and believe our response and support goes a long way to addressing their concerns.  So, we are looking forward to having them.  Of course, they have a number of colleagues in digital drama, children’s programming, gameshows, and the rest of daytime television that we still expect to have a robust program at the 46th Annual Daytime Emmys in May of 2019.

You had mentioned that when you saw the results of the report that you felt it was very thorough, and you felt it pointed out things that needed to be fixed.

ADAM:  Yes, the report was exceedingly thorough and fair.  It delivered criticism where criticism was due, and there were a number of areas where we should have and must do better in the management of the Daytime Emmys and our other awards competitions.  I think the report certainly examined every issue that had been raised by members of the Daytime community and then some.  It allowed us to think about what actions we can take as a team to address each of those points.  I don’t think any awards show in our space has ever undertaken such an in-depth introspection of their procedures, yet alone made it public.  So, hopefully we are a trend-setter here.

The report indicates that NATAS will work more closely with the Television Academy (ATAS).  That seems to always be a point of contention.  How do you see yourself improving participation with them to engage that academy in more of the process?

ADAM:  So, the relationship between the two academies has strengthened incredibly in the past year, largely through the leadership of our respective chairman, Terry O’Reilly, the chairman of NATAS, who was elected earlier this summer and Hayma Washington at the Television Academy.  Obviously, they are going to have a new election soon as Hayma is retiring from the role.  So, we can continue that momentum into 2019.  What we note in our response to the report, was that one element of concern raised in the letter from the four soap producers was the mix of Television Academy members on our judging panels, and we want to be responsive to that.  We are prepared to make Television Academy membership a much higher priority in our consideration of judges for these panels, but obviously accessing that membership and engaging that membership requires a deeper partnership with the Television Academy, and we will see to that.

You are starting the call for entries on Monday, November 12th.  If the daytime dramas don’t participate within the timeframe you’ve given, do you see yourself adjusting the timeframe for the soaps if they were to say, “We want to work somethings out before we commit,” or are you just going to move forward if they are not participating in the deadlines you’ve set?

ADAM:  Our deadlines are going to be rather firm for all entrants.  We have a show date set for May and a process that moves backward from there in terms of the time that is needed.  Certainly, the fact that we have added additional review steps and procedures makes that timeline even more critical.  So, we are not going to be in a position to be extending extensions really to anyone.  In fact, the report specifically discourages granting extensions to anyone because that could create the appearance of unfairness that some types of entries get more time than other types of entries.  We welcome everyone, and if by the entry deadline there are particular genres, programs, or individuals that choose not to participate, we will miss them, hope they attend the show in May, and hope we can reengage them for 2020.

If the soaps did not participate in the 46th annual Daytime Emmys, but decided to come back later, it is my understanding that there would just be one drama category whereby web series and daytime soaps would be competing together in that.  Is that potentially what could happen?

ADAM:  I don’t want to go too many branches down off a tree of ‘what if’s,’ but our policies and guidelines do allow that if a category does not have a sufficient number of participants to be competitive, then that category can be eliminated or merged with another category or have its entries moved into another category for the competition.  So, we will look at all of the categories once we have the entries to see which ones remain viable and which ones do not.  Certainly, the fact that we do have digital drama categories gives us a place to contribute to have a drama competition regardless of what mix of entries we have.  I suspect that once you combine those, it becomes very difficult to uncombine them in the future, but obviously the call to entries is revisited every year, so, I can’t think of any long-term prognostications beyond 2019.

Since you are relatively new to your position with NATAS, you probably weren’t expecting that the producers that signed the letter demanding that change and issues be addressed in regard to the Daytime Emmys or they would boycott, would be something you would be dealing with off the bat.  How did you feel about it?

ADAM:  Well, I’m obviously rather new to the role.  My first day as interim president was the day after the Daytime Emmy show this year.  I was only named the permanent president last week.  It was certainly a trial by fire.  I would not say that I had enough history with the daytime drama community to have any expectation one way or another, and I think that is also true of our chairman, Terry O’Reilly, who came into office on July 1st.  That said, in a world of looking for silver linings, I think it gave us an opportunity for a blank slate and a fresh start.  By the community raising these concerns to our attention, and allowing us to conduct this deep review and make it public and be responsive to the issues they raised, it gives us a lot more opportunity to strengthen that relationship in 2019 than if a lot of these concerns had just continued to deteriorate and be whispered about at various cocktail parties, but never really spoken up and therefore, never really addressed.  So, while it was a painful process and there were parts of this report that were difficult to read, I think it gave us the opportunity to start from scratch and to put some of that history behind us.

So, do you think NATAS has addressed the concerns of the daytime dramas? What did you think of the points raised by Adam Sharp in this interview? Do you hope the Emmys will continue as usual with all four network soaps participating? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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What do you want to change ? Daytime is dead disgusting storylines actors who think they are important and choose who they will be paired with please cancel them all they deserve it!!!!

This sounds ridiculous. How can you have a daytime emmys wihtout the soaps. a digital drama is not a drama and the daytime emmys aren’t even on tv anymore. I won’t watch if my shows aren’t there.

What audience growth is he talking about? They’re not even aired. Is he suggesting Facebook is a television audience? You lost my interest at that point in this article. You truly lost it when he suggested, if soaps don’t show up this year, see you later bye, and accept what happens when you do come back. What a joke.

With Facebook having recently launched its own streaming service, Facebook Watch, long-form programming beyond just short-form content is gaining a foothold.

The success of the US remake of the Norwegian series SKAM in the service this year showed that there is an audience for television-quality content in a digital platform.

Hi James. I use Facebook as a touchstone for family and old childhood friends only. Not as a broadcast network. That platform has enough problems just trying to keep it’s original purpose in check. I doubt very seriously watch Facebook will will even be a ” Thing” after a fashion. What wasn’t addressed.. Why the Emmys aren’t televised, and what could be done to make that happen. You can say and hope a lot of things. It ain’t necessarily true tho. Yeah there’s an audience for TV type content digitally. Just not Facebook. My opinion.

That edit button is a beautiful thing Michael Fairman TV.

Facebook, like any platform needs to grow out in order to remain relevant in the long-term, just as how radio and television started out as mediums that were meant to spread only information but became more than that. It is similar to how Netflix transitioned from being an online video rental service to a fully fledged streaming one over the course of the past decade.

Seeing how Facebook alone have essentially replaced online social forums as fans migrated to the platform to talk about things with regards to their favorite shows, whether through private groups, public fanpages or the official accounts of the shows themselves, the audience engagement rate is high. You can tell by the hundreds of comments left under a single post from the DOOL official fanpage alone.

It would be foolish to ignore that potential in tapping an audience who will no doubt watch a video about their favorite daytime shows, which made sense for Facebook Watch to serve as the streaming home of the Daytime Emmys.

The award show is no longer pulling the numbers it used to have from the era of lesser competition on terrestrial television, being bumped to cable where it got even less, and sponsors unwilling to buy ad spots. In fact, just about every American award show has seen their numbers dropping per annum. We all have to accept that the marketplace isn’t what it used to be, and we either concede or become a trailblazer, which NATAS is trying to do by having the show air on an online platform. If the engagement is high, the views meet the needed threshold, and the actual award show doesn’t suck, then we got ourselves a winning combo for the fans, for the industry, for everyone.

With the rise t of original scripted content on streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, can a show like House of Cards be on the same category as a smaller production such EastSiders (both available on Netflix worldwide) on award shows like the Emmys?

Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star, Greg Vaughan, Gives Health Update and Thanks Everyone for Their Support

Greg Vaughan (Eric, Days of our Lives, ex-Lucky, GH, and ex-Diego, Y&R) provided an update on his health on Sunday, March 17th. Vaughan had previously shared that he had become ill during a trip with his sons to Colorado, and had developed altitude sickness when he was having trouble breathing accompanied by terrible headaches and landed in the urgent care.

Now on St. Patrick’s Day, Greg took to his Instagram and shared how he is feeling now, and to thank everyone for their love and support.  As it turned out, Vaughan was diagnosed with high altitude pulmonary edema, commonly known as HAPE. However, he is on the mend slowly and surely.

In his new video post, the DAYS favorite started by expressing, “I just felt such an appreciation and gratitude for everything. . reaching out. Your prayers have been felt. It’s been a struggle, but I’m over the top. And, taking this moment just to say I didn’t realize the things that I was going through. My (original) post was simply just to educate, put some information out there and some things that I was feeling, just share that information and the struggle that I was going through, which I didn’t quite understand. And it wasn’t because I’m stubborn or just because I’m a father, a man, and didn’t want to go to a doctor. It is just something I thought was so minor that I could overcome it, just by taking care of myself.”

Photo: JPI

The Daytime Emmy winner then revealed his actual diagnosis, “So, basically my situation was high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). With some good friends, doctors that had reached out to me, it kind of gave me some understanding on the aftermath, which was very, very beneficial.”

“But I’ve been resting, taking care of myself even though I live in a hamster wheel,” said the dad of three teenaged boys. “I gotta get up and, you know, do my normal domesticated stuff, eventually. I’m tired of laying down in this bed, but, I am feeling much better.”

Photo: GVaughanIG

Talking on his confusion of trying to understand what could have been ailing him, Vaughan expressed, “I couldn’t quite figure it out, even though I was emphasizing and professing to my children going on our spring break getaway about hydration. I professed it. But, even though I was acting on it, it had a greater effect on me, and for which I did not even think, because my head was such in pain, and I was in a very bad state of mind – not being able to be out there with my kids on the mountain, enjoying their time, as well. I thought I was doing the right thing. Unfortunately, my lungs were full of fluids and my head was in severe pain and even migraine pills didn’t even help. So, I just want anybody that goes into the Colorado Mountains to know, it is no joke. It is this very serious thing which I guess is why they call it the Mile High City.”

Greg had a mountain of ‘thank you’s’ to give for the outreach he received from his original post, “For everybody internationally, wherever you are, I love you and I appreciate you and just the time and the thoughts that you’ve shared with me,” said Vaughan. “I didn’t realize that it would make such an impression on so many people around the world. I feel tremendously loved and I can’t say it enough. I’m good. And I appreciate you.”

Photo: GVaughanIG

The actor concluded his video with, “To all the family and friends that have reached out to me, man, it means the world. So take care of yourself, enjoy your spring break with your families. It’s Saint Patty’s Day, obviously. I wish I could be out there.” Vaughan added, “I feel loved and touched and I can’t emphasize that enough. I’ll take better care of myself, promise you will do the same.” Before he signed off, Greg shared, “Just know, that I’m alive and well and breathing, and I’m sore. So, be well, take care. I mean it. Thank you, tremendously.”

Glad to know that Greg has been on the mend, and shared his appreciation for everyone that reached out to him during this trying time? Comment below.

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Access Hollywood’ and ‘Couple to Throuple’ Host Scott Evans to Appear on Days of our Lives

Scott Evans, host of Access Hollywood and the Peacock reality series Couple to Throuple, will make a guest appearance this week on Days of our Lives.

Circle the Thursday, March 21st episode of DAYS for Evans’ arrival in Salem. During his tape date last fall (since DAYS tapes months well ahead of when episodes actually stream), Scott posed for a snap alongside Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Jackée Harry (Paulina), James Reynolds (Abe) and Greg Rikaart (Leo).

Teasers for the 3/21 episode of DAYS share that Leo tries to come up with his next gossip column, and Paulina and Abe return home to a mini-celebration set up by Johnny and Steve. Will Evans pop up in one of those scenarios? Stay tuned.

Photo: JPI

For a long time, soap opera fans knew only of one Scott Evans. The one who played Oliver Fish on One Life to Live from 2008-2010.  But in show business, there are two Scott Evans’ that are widely-known.

Last Thursday, March 12th at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards, it found both Scott Evans and Scott Evans together in the green room and they taped this video ditty below, calling out how they both share the same name.

Photo: JPI

Last weekend, viewers saw OLTL’s Scott Evans on-stage at the Oscars when he performed in the musical number “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie led by Ryan Gosling.

As for Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans, he has been with the entertainment news program since 2015, appeared in the recent Ladies of the 80s: A Divas Christmas with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Nicollette Sheridan, Loni Anderson and Morgan Fairchild, and currently has an overall talent and development deal with NBCUniversal.

So, looking forward to seeing Scott on DAYS? Check out ‘Evans meeting Evans’ below, and then share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star Greg Vaughan Shares Sudden Health Scare: “I Truly Feel Like I Work & Live in a Soap Opera!”

What started out as an adventure with his sons, quickly turned into a nightmare for Days of our Lives Daytime Emmy winner, Greg Vaughan (Eric Brady).

In a series of Instagram posts, Vaughan shared the sudden health crisis he found himself in.  The images show Greg with an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

The actor began to fill people, sharing, “I’ve said more than a few times, I truly feel like I work & live in a Soap Opera! 🤪 this trip was nothing short of another great Vaughan adventure!”

He went on to say that on a father and son Colorado spring break trip, he began to feel shortness of breath, feeling tired and with a headache and after two days of hoping he would feel better, Vaughan finally went to an Urgent Care to get checked out.

Photo: GVaughanIG

“I finally surrendered & went to urgent care and to my shock I learned that I was experiencing severe altitude sickness.” Vaughan admitted. “My Blood Oxygen was at 54% & my lungs were full of fluids! Blood oxygen, also known as oxygen saturation, represents the percentage of hemoglobin in your red blood cells that is carrying oxygen. Most people have an oxygen level of 95-100%….”

Providing more detail to his health scare, Greg shared, “Well, 4hrs later, a couple of bags of IV & oxygen tank strapped to my face, I was told that I needed to immediately get off the mountain! However I couldn’t, we still had another day to go & wanting the boys to enjoy their last day on the hill tops! I opted to go home with an oxygen tank, a good laugh for everyone, and I know will follow, but my boys looked after their old man & fortunately they had friends on this trip!”

Photo: JPI

The experience of altitude sickness in the Colorado Rockies gave Vaughan a bit of a new perspective, “In all seriousness, no matter your age, and all the times I’ve ⛷️ & 🏂 in my lifetime, Colorado Rockies is no joke! As they say, ‘ take a breathe and smell the roses!’ That is truly something we need to remember & appreciate! #recover”

Share your well-wishes to Greg as he continues to be on the mend via the comment section below.

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Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

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