The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Launches New Web Portal Showcasing Television's Greatest Stories at EmmyTVLegends.org

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Launches New Web Portal Showcasing Television's Greatest Stories at EmmyTVLegends.org

Free Web Video Portal is Ready for Prime Time with Not-to-be-Missed Moments with More Than 600 TV Legends Including Alan Alda, Walter Cronkite, Michael J. Fox, Ron Howard, Leonard Nimoy, Regis Philbin, Tim Russert, Barbara Walters, Betty White and Henry Winkler

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation has launched EmmyTVLegends.org, a new web video portal offering free, public access to the Archive of American Television, the most comprehensive videotaped interview collection of its kind. It features revealing conversations with more than 600 influential figures that have shaped the television industry from its inception to present day, and includes little-known anecdotes, unique perspectives, and eyewitness accounts from top names in TV.

This ambitious, new website has been more than a decade in the making. Since 1996, the Archive has conducted in-depth interviews with television's biggest stars, industry legends, and crucial behind-the-scenes players who make television magic. In 2005, the Archive began to release the interviews online to the public, but until now there was no easy way to search and navigate the footage.

At launch, visitors to the beta site at EmmyTVLegends.org will find an abundance of video footage that will delight any TV fan. Candid, surprising, heartfelt and hilarious stories are now instantly and easily accessible to anyone online. Visitors can now enjoy such footage as:

-- TV legend Mary Tyler Moore recalling what her comedic hero, Lucille
Ball, told her one day on the set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and why
it was the most rewarding moment of her career (Mary Tyler Moore,
1997)
-- Phylicia Rashad revealing that Nelson Mandela credits "The Cosby Show"
for easing tensions with his prison guard (Phylicia Rashad, 2007)
-- Recently departed news legend Walter Cronkite relating the difficulty
of deciding to publicly and personally express his disillusionment
about the Vietnam War on his newscast (Walter Cronkite, 1998)

-- Current Emmy Award nominees such as Betty White, Alan Alda, William
Shatner and others speaking at unprecedented length about their
careers in television

"We always envisioned the Archive of American Television as a free, dynamic, and accessible resource for anyone who loves the medium of television," said Television Academy Foundation Chairman Jerry Petry. "EmmyTVLegends.org is a fascinating destination, serving up great stories and career reminiscences about your favorite television stars and programs, as well as all the drama, comedy, and twists of fate that created this medium and continue to shape it today."

Interviews on the site have been meticulously indexed and tagged, edited into segments, summarized and cross-referenced to ease navigation and encourage discovery. The portal's advanced search functionality enables researchers to find exactly what they are looking for, while suggested content links help curious users get the most out of the collection. Each entry features background information and links to additional resources, including complete episodes of select series. All content on the site is easily shared across popular social media sites. The portal is complemented by the Foundation's existing social media platforms including a blog, Twitter and Facebook.

"Television has produced some of the most talented people in this country, and it's about time that the TV industry had its own archive," said multiple Emmy Award winner and Archive interviewee Regis Philbin.

EmmyTVLegends.org launches today in beta with more than 100 interviews, including Alan Alda, Steven Bochco, Ed Bradley, "I Love Lucy" writers Bob Carroll, Jr. & Madelyn Pugh Davis, set designer Roy Christopher, Walter Cronkite, Sam Donaldson, Michael J. Fox, Larry Gelbart, Sharon Gless, Sherman Hemsley, Ron Howard, Norman Lear, fashion designer Bob Mackie, "Sesame Street's" Sonia Manzano, Leonard Nimoy, Carroll O'Connor, Regis Philbin, Phylicia Rashad, Tim Russert, producer Jay Sandrich, television executive and producer Fred Silverman, Lesley Stahl, Jean Stapleton, Barbara Walters, and Henry Winkler.

Earlier this year, the Academy Foundation selected Mochila, a premium content syndication technology platform and network, to design the Archive as an accessible web portal. Mochila provided all website design and custom development that allows users to view the thousands of hours of content in short- and long-form segments.

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation

Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation is dedicated to utilizing the resources of the Television Academy and the artistry of television to preserve and celebrate the history of the medium, while educating and guiding those who will shape its future. The Foundation is responsible for the Archive of American Television, as well as education programs such as the College Television Awards and its renowned student internship program. For more information on the Foundation, the Television Academy and its many industry-related programs, services and year-round Academy events, please visit EmmysFoundation.org.

Source: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation

CONTACT: Steve Spignese, +1-310-689-7363, steve@beckmedia.com, or Laura
Hart, +1-310-689-7363, Laura@beckmedia.com, both of Beck Media & Marketing,
for Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation

Web Site: http://www.emmytvlegends.org/
http://www.emmysfoundation.org/

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