It was election night at the TV Academy– and nobody won the top spot.
Current chairman- CEO John Shaffner ran for re-election, facing off against the digital-focused Brian Seth Hurst, the second vice-chairman of the Academy. But when all the votes were tallied, it turned out there was a tie.
Yikes!
Usually Academy elections aren’t all that exciting. This one, however, might have been a bit more interesting given last summer’s brouhaha over planned changes to the Emmy broadcast.
Shafner was a major proponent of change, and when planned changes met with resistance, he had to deal with the fallout. On the positive tip, this year’s Emmy broadcast won broad critical acclaim (at least relative to recent shows) and saw its ratings improve.
So what happens now? Apparently there’ll be a second vote on Jan. 6. That gives Shaffner and Hurst plenty of time to send some very nice Christmas cookies to voters (assuming such efforts aren’t banned by the rules).
As for the races that were decided Wednesday:
–Vice Chair: Nancy Bradley Wiard, current Television Academy Vice Chair, Co-Chair Anomalies Committee, Chair of the Primetime Awards Committee.
–Second Vice Chair: Stacey Luchs Struber, outgoing Governor Public Relations Peer Group, Primetime Awards Show Co-Chair, Governors Appointee to the Executive Committee.
–Secretary: Marcelino Ford-Livene, outgoing Governor Interactive Media Peer Group.
–Treasurer: Kevin Hamburger, outgoing Governor Production Executives Peer Group, Governors Appointee to the Executive Committee, Chair of the Budget Review Committee.
–Los Angeles Area Vice Chair: Joetta Di Bella, outgoing Governor, Los Angeles Area Peer Group, Co-Chair LA Area Awards Committee.
UPDATED 12:54 AM CST
Updates to come….
