Houston stations rack up 20 Emmys

A documentary on Jesse Jones, scheduled for a national airdate next spring, won one of 20 Emmy Awards handed out to Houston TV stations and production houses Saturday during ceremonies in Miami.

In all, 95 Emmys were awarded to stations and producers in the Suncoast Region, which stretches around the Gulf Coast and includes southeast Texas, southern Louisiana, southern Alabama and all of Florida.

Channel 13 received eight statuettes to lead all Houston stations. Channel 11 received five awards. Channel 2 and Channel 26 each won two Emmys.

Channel 13 anchor/reporter Art Rascon and investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino received three Emmys each.

Rascon won two awards for reports on the personal impact of the crisis in Kosovo on a Houston man separated from his family and one for a story about children in Nicaragua living on dump sites and the work by Rotary International to save them.

Dolcefino won twice for stories about bus drivers. His eight-part series on sexual misconduct in schools was also honored.

The three Emmys now give Dolcefino a total of seven.

Two Houston reporters received two Emmys each: Channel 11's Anna Werner and Channel 26's Tom Ziska. Channel 2's Tony Kovaleski won for a report on dangerous train stops, and Channel 11's Doug Miller was honored for a report on storm devastation in Mexico.

Beryt K. Nisenson of DesignForce Associates, a local graphic design and video production company that's only a year old, received an Emmy for "Eye on the Storm," a Channel 11 special report on weather preparedness.

The San Antonio-based Texas Network, which airs here on Channel 55, received an Emmy for a report on resident doctors. And Texas Parks & Wildlife, whose reports air on Channel 8, won four statuettes.

The documentary on Jones, one of the most influential men in Houston history (and founder of the Chronicle), won awards for Steven Fenberg, executive producer; Eric Stange, producer/director; and Ken Lawrence, Channel 8 program director and the show's executive in charge of production.

Brother Can You Spare a Billion? The Story of Jesse H. Jones will get a national airing in April, Fenberg said Monday. The show already has received a CINE Golden Eagle (recognizing it for creative and technical merit), a Golden Apple award (approving it for classroom and corporate use) and a gold award from WorldFest Houston (best documentary).

Satellite connection

A bill that will allow satellite users to receive local channels awaits the president's signature, and once it's signed could go into effect here by the end of the year.

Los Angeles and New York will be the first markets the satellite companies will target, a DirecTV spokesman said Monday. San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Miami and Washington, D.C., are next in line. Houston would be one of the next groups to get the service.

DirecTV is poised to deliver L.A. and New York "within hours" of the president signing the bill.

The service will allow DirecTV, the nation's No. 1 satellite provider, and DISH, the No. 2, to transmit the signal of a limited number of local stations. In Houston, that number is expected to be limited - at least initially - to Channel 2, Channel 11, Channel 13, Channel 26 and a PBS feed. The providers will have to sign retransmission agreements with each of the stations before the signal will go out.

Customers who were not receiving local satellite service - including network feeds from out of state - can expect their bill to increase by $5.99 if they want to see the local news without converting to an outside antenna.

People and programs

The WB has confirmed that the character of Doyle on Angel, played by Glenn Quinn, will be killed off in the Nov. 30 episode of the show. Apparently this was the plan creator Joss Whedon had all along, but it was kept under close wraps. Supposedly even Quinn was not aware of it.

Angel will add another character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Wesley (Alexis Densiof), who usurped Giles as Watcher on last season's Buffy, will join the show.

The twentysomething drama Wasteland, which ABC put on hiatus during the November sweeps, apparently won't be back. Variety reports that the show, created by Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek), has been shelved.

Channel 13 was the ratings leader during most of Thursday's coverage of the Texas A&M Bonfire tragedy. KTRK was No. 1 from 5 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., in midafternoon, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., during the 7-8 p.m. memorial service and at 10 p.m. Channel 11 was No. 1 during the other time periods, except at 10 p.m. where it fell to No. 3, behind Channel 2.

Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black are scheduled to perform during halftime of Thursday's Dallas-Miami game.