Southeastern Channel students honored with Emmys
Monday, October 29, 2018 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
SOUTHEASTERN CHANNEL STUDENTS HONORED WITH EMMYS - Southeastern Channel students were recently honored by the Suncoast Emmys of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with two Student Production Awards and four honorable mentions. Seated from left are Ben Delbert of Covington, John Sartori of Mandeville, and Justin Redman of Slidell. Standing, from left, are Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon, Wesley Boone of Alexandria, Amanda Kitch of Covington, Freddie Rosario of Hahnville, and Southeastern Channel Operations Manager Steve Zaffuto, a course instructor.
HAMMOND – For the sixth straight year, students at the Southeastern Channel,
Southeastern Louisiana University’s educational access station, have been honored
with college division Student Production Awards given by the Emmy Awards’ Suncoast
Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
John Sartori of Mandeville was a winner in the “Talent” category, while Justin
Redman of Slidell, Ben Delbert of Covington and Jonathan Calhoun of Baton Rouge were
winners for their production in the “Commercial” category.
Sartori won for his on-camera composite of Southeastern Channel work that included
anchoring and reporting for the national award-winning “Big Game” sportscast, hosting
and producing the “Lion Tracks” coaches’ talk show, and play-by-play announcing of
live Southeastern game broadcasts.
“If you are a student interested in broadcast journalism, there is no better
place for you in this country than in Hammond, La., at the Southeastern Channel,”
Sartori said. “I have been given opportunities that I could have only dreamed of before
entering college.”
Redman, Delbert and Calhoun won for their 15-second, stop-motion animation commercial
“The Cajun Spoon: Two Meals, One Spoon,” produced for the Cajun Spoon seasoning brand
and dry dinner mix company of Baton Rouge.
“This award is extremely prestigious because it belongs to a division of arguably
the biggest and most esteemed award ceremonies for television productions,” Delbert
said. “To win such an award essentially places your own work in the same field as
many other professional productions.”
Delbert edited the spot, while it was produced and directed by Calhoun with Redman
providing camera work and voiceover narration.
The commercial was produced in the Communication 424: Television Advertising
Production course in the electronic media concentration of the Department of Languages
and Communication. In the class production, students at the Southeastern Channel produced
15, 30 and 60-second television commercials for a real-world business client, like
the Cajun Spoon, through collaboration with advanced marketing class students who
developed the advertising campaign under marketing professor Teri Root. In recent
years, the collaborative course has also produced commercials and marketing campaigns
for Hammond businesses North Cypress Fitness and Gnarly Barley Brewing Company.
The Cajun Spoon wanted its commercial to emphasize themes of community involvement
and engagement to position the product as more than a simple dinner option, Settoon
said. The company wanted to illustrate its “two meals, one spoon” initiative, where
one box of mix is donated to a food pantry per each box purchased.
“The thought was to make sure the audience would gravitate to the general idea
that the product brought the family together, as well as the community,” Calhoun said.
“So it’s a blessing to receive the award and know that the main message was well received.”
According to Communication 424 course instructor and Southeastern Channel Operations
Manager Steve Zaffuto, the award-winning 15-second commercial utilized a more stylized
approach of stop-motion animation of close-ups of hands passing around bowls of prepared
meals in contrast to the 30-and-60 second versions that featured live action scenes
of a family eating a meal together.
“The decision to utilize a ‘stop-motion’ approach via a series of still frames,
rather than full-motion footage, draws attention to both the product and general concept
of ‘sharing’ that is vital to the campaign’s central message,” Zaffuto said.
The Southeastern Channel also won four Honorable Mentions in the Emmy competition.
Sartori, as play-by-play announcer, along with color analyst Wesley Boone of Alexandria
and director Freddie Rosario of Hahnville, won honorable mention recognition in the
“Sports-Live Event” category for the Southeastern Channel’s live basketball broadcast
of the Dec. 14, 2017 Lions game with Southern University of New Orleans.
In addition, Rosario won honorable mention for “Director” of the Lions-SUNO basketball
broadcast, while Boone was honored as “Director” of his short film, “Intersect.” Amanda
Kitch of Covington won honorable mention in the “Photographer” category for her news
videography composite.
The students and their productions were honored in the Emmy Suncoast Region comprised
of television stations and production companies in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana
and Puerto Rico. Students at the Southeastern Channel have now been named Emmy winners
17 times with 62 nominations.
“Being recognized by the Emmys is the highest honor you can receive in television,”
said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon. “Since so few are given, we’re
absolutely thrilled that John, Justin, Ben and Jonathan are deservedly joining such
elite company with this highest reward for their talent, creativity and hard work.”
The Southeastern Channel has now won over 400 national, international and regional
awards in the past 15 years.
The channel can be seen on Charter Spectrum Cable Channel 199 in Tangipahoa,
Livingston, St. Helena and St. Tammany parishes. The live 24/7 webcast and video on
demand can be seen at www.thesoutheasternchannel.com.
