Last night the Midwest Regional Emmys were held in Chicago.  The Emmy chapter that we belong to is basically all the stations in Wisconsin, all the stations in Illinois, and Northwest Indiana.  The ceremony is always held in Chicago. This year it was held in the Thorne Auditorium at Northwestern's downtown Chicago campus.

   It's kind of a cool ceremony.  Almost everyone comes in tuxes and fancy gown.  Tickets cost $125 per piece, so I guess that qualifies as a dress up occasion.  It's held in a big auditorium.  It's just like the ceremony you see on TV.  There is always a nationally known host.  This year it was Jeff Garlin.  He is one of the stars of the HBO Comedy 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.  There are even stage guides.  They are the pretty people on stage who make sure that everyone on stage gets escorted on and off the right way. They also carry up the statues to the presenters.

   This year our station, WTMJ TV was nominated for seven Emmys.  I'm proud to say that we won two of them.  My team won them both. 

   One of them was for a groundbreaking investigation into "Wisconsin Puppy Mills."  We took our hidden cameras into some of the country's worst puppy mills, right here in Wisconsin.  The story has led to proposed legislation.

   The other story that won was "Judge Me Not".  We took an in-depth look at the Judge Substitution Law in Wisconsin.  The law allows accused felons to substitute out of a judge's courtroom if they feel the judge may be too tough.  The accused does not have to give any reason to be granted a substitution.

   I am so fortunate to work with very good people.   They are dedicated, hardworking, and extremely creative.  I need to thank my Executive Producer Maureen Mack, my producer Ira Klusendorf, producers Stephanie Graham, Paul Marble and Joe Eufemi and editor Paul Balistreri.  They make all of my work so much better.  Thank you!

   The cool part about last night was how well Milwaukee did.  Milwaukee TV stations walked away with nine Emmys.  Nine!  Brad Hicks and Brian Polcyn each won two for WITI, Fox 6.  Ted Perry also won one for them.  And WMVS also won two Emmys for their work on The Making of Milwaukee.  One of our city's most talented musicians, Maurice Wininsky won for best music composition.  Wininsky is a bassist in the  Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.  And we all won in categories that have traditionally been dominated by Chicago TV stations.

   We are in the middle of the crucial November ratings period.  Day in and day out we are all fighting for viewers.   We're on the street trying to bloody each others noses and knock each other around.  Last night we all came together.  We were on the same team.  As a I was leaving a friend of mine at one of the Chicago stations said to me, "Milwaukee kicked butt". She's right.  Milwaukee did kick butt!

   As always you can share your thoughts... jmercure@todaystmj4.com