Eastchester TV Show Wins Emmy

Eastchester's Alan Weiss Productions has won an New York Emmy Award for its "Teen/Kids News" television program. The production company won in the Emmy's education category for its two-part story on the U.S. Naval Academy.

Tania Wilk-Weiss and Alan Weiss own the production company. Tania is one of the show's producers and Alan is the program's executive producer.

"Teen/Kids News" is celebrating its tenth anniversary of being on the air. The 30-minute show is designed to engage teens when it comes to what is happening in the world around them. The program is filmed locally and across the country. The stories are told by a reporting staff of teens and young adults. Many of the reporters are from Westchester.

Currently, "Teen/Kids News" airs on more than 200 television stations in the United States. Here in New York, it runs on Fox 5 at 9:30 a.m on Saturday. The program is also carried on educational channels at 10,000 schools across the United States.

Receiving the Emmy for their contributions to the program were: Westchester residents Marilou Yacoub and Tania Wilk Producers; Sean Wilk, Photographer and Alan J. Weiss, Executive Producer ; Orange County residents, Rick Lavon and David Lauterbach, Editors; NYC residents Deborah Gobble, Writer; and Kristen Kamsler, Associate Producer and NJ resident Robert Cassella Jr, editor.

Patch got an exclusive interviews with show Producers Tania Wilk-Weiss and Marilou Yacoub and Execietive Producer Alan Weiss. We asked them about the experience of receiving an Emmy.


Patch: How does it make you feel to receive this award?

Marilou: This is my first Emmy award, so it’s very exciting.  It’s always an honor to be recognized by professional peers for your work; this has an extra special meaning, because we are so proud of Teen Kids News.  As a mom of a 12 year old, I see first-hand the positive impact the show has on tweens and teens.  

 

Patch: What is the hardest part about producing this genre?

Alan: The biggest challenge is keeping in mind that the teen audience doesn’t have the same grasp of recent history and frames of reference that adults have.   So we can’t toss out phrases like “It’s another Vietnam” or “Going  the way of the 8-track” without stepping back and explaining them.  Which is actually a good thing.  It not only helps to make us better communicators, it insures that the program stays true to delivering news through the teen perspective. 

 

Patch: What is the most rewarding part of producing Teen/Kids News?

Tania: Winning the Emmy in the Education category really underscores what our program is all about.  It’s incredibly rewarding to do stories that both educate and motivate.  And the feedback we get from teens lets us know what we’re doing makes an impact.