WFLD Channel 32 wins local Emmy for overall station excellence

WFLD Channel 32 won the local Emmy for overall station excellence Sunday, but in accepting the award reporter Larry Yellen promptly cracked a joke about host Jeff Garlin's weight.

Just the sort of clever classiness Channel 32 has specialized in to lay claim to Chicago TV's top local honor, but that's the Emmys, which are sometimes inexplicable.

WBBM Channel 2 and WMAQ Channel 5 led all stations with a dozen Emmys apiece overall for the ceremony, which took place Sunday evening at the Thorne Auditorium on Northwestern University's downtown campus. WTTW Channel 11 claimed nine, WGN Channel 9 earned five and a half, and Channel 32 got five.

Garlin, the Chicago-born comic best known as Larry David's sidekick on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," opened with a "Sgt. Pepper" reference -- "It's wonderful to be here, it's certainly a thrill" -- and kept things moving with an irreverent ease. He found it amusing that this award ceremony doesn't permit honorees to address the audience. "We give them away, then we push them out the door," he said. Winners were permitted to record a statement to be posted Wednesday on the chicagoemmyonline.org Web site of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which administers the local Emmys. But, as Garlin went on to point out, "No one's going to the web site to see a speech except for the people who made the speech."

As host, Garlin hurried things along, although he did pause to comically come on to the woman translating all remarks into sign language and got her to sign, "I have big balls," and joshed that he and Channel 9 meteorologist Tom Skilling "used to be lovers." When Yellen cracked his joke about Garlin's weight, however, Garlin closed the ceremony by replying, "There's nothing you can do but laugh at it and call them douche bags."

That's a welcome relief from the self-importance of the usual award ceremony, but it didn't exactly enhance the Emmys' reputation for quality.

Channel 32's Mark Saxenmeyer led all on-air talent with three Emmys. The special "Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There" earned four of Channel 11's nine awards.

Milwaukee's WITI-TV led a strong out-of-town effort with five Emmys, and WTMJ-TV took four, as did Chicago's Total Living Network. Comcast SportsNet Chicago earned three.

WSNS Channel 44's Tsi-tsi-ki Felix was honored for outstanding achievement by a news anchor. Channel 5's Ginger Zee was named top weather forecaster, Channel 5's Peggy Kusinski top sports anchor and Channel 2's Dave Savini and Susan Carlson top reporter and top traffic reporter.

Channel 2's Pam Zekman took the Emmy for an investigative series for "Hiding Homicides."