SU’s Video Production Unit honored with 2007 Telly Award for ‘The Health Show’

SU’s Video Production Unit honored with 2007 Telly Award for ‘The Health Show’April 23, 2007Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Video Production Unit (VPU) received a 2007 bronze Telly Award in the category of health and wellness for the pilot episode of “The Healthy Show,” a documentary-style reality show that premiered on the University’s Orange Television Network in May 2006. VPU is a division of SU’s Information and Technology Services (ITS).

The Telly Awards (http://www.tellyawards.com) is the premier award honoring outstanding achievement in local, regional and cable television programs, commercials, and video and film productions. Based in New York City, the annual Telly Awards competition receives more than 12,000 entries from all 50 states, as well as entries from many foreign countries.

Produced for SU’s Healthy Monday — HealthyIM Campus Initiative, “The Healthy Show: Jackie & Tula” features Jackie Friedman, now a senior with a dual major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Human Services and Health Professions, and Tula Goenka, associate professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, as they juggle their desire to lead a healthy lifestyle with their busy schedules. With the help of a personal trainer, nutritionist and fitness coach, Friedman and Goenka are challenged physically and mentally to make healthier choices on their 12-week journey to wellness. A second episode of the show is currently in production and will air during the Fall 2007 semester; a third episode is in the planning stages.

Executive producers for the pilot episode of “The Healthy Show” were Newhouse faculty members Don Torrance and Fiona Chew. Neal Coffey, VPU manager, served as production manager and running coach for Friedman. Also assisting with the program were Heather Tveter, coordinating producer; Mary Kasprzyk, associate producer, videographer and editor; and Roxane Niezabytowski and Yvonne Hsiao, who also served as videographers.

SU’s Healthy Monday-HealthyIM Initiative (http://healthyim.syr.edu) is a multidisciplinary project that promotes healthy lifestyles among SU students, faculty and staff through health promotion activities, especially on Mondays. The project is associated with the national Healthy Monday campaign (http://healthymonday.org), a project of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The campaign focuses on Monday as the perfect day of the week to assess one’s health and lifestyle. A clip of the pilot episode of “The Healthy Show” can be viewed on the Web at http://vpu.syr.edu/thehealthyshow.