Once again, the Marconi Award for Network/Syndication Personality of the Year went home with someone else. While not surprising, it is very disappointing.
God bless Bob & Sheri for getting so many nominations. Goodness knows they deserve it…every single time. Their show is (and always has been) the most amazing morning radio program. And I’m not saying that because I spent the better part of seven years with them (and wrote several of their Marconi Award submissions).
They’re incredible people with a great show that engages you and gets your mind going in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I need some Sheri every morning to say something intelligent and hilarious. She inspires me to get on with it…with a laugh.
Here’s a little industry background for you: NAB members can submit a show for a Marconi Award. If your submission gets selected by the group as one of the final nominees, great! But here’s the catch, you can’t campaign for the award. So the big group selects the nominees, but a smaller committee decides who gets the award.
This year’s award ceremony was a missed opportunity to finally thank two professional broadcasters for bringing and keeping affluent, educated female listeners glued to their morning radio for the past fifteen or so years.
Let’s also remember that Bob lost his beloved son, John, last December. I went to that funeral on Christmas Eve and saw a deeply wounded man get up and speak so eloquently and movingly about his son. And then he did the bravest thing in the world…he came back to the microphone.
Other nominees have been in trouble with the law and then showered with praise and awards. Where’s the respect for someone who lost someone so precious and then returned to the show? Finally winning that Marconi would’ve been a just and respectful thing for the industry to do.
Don’t think I have sour grapes. In fact, I’ll go ahead and make a prediction now that this year’s winner will be lauded for his tenacity and contribution to the industry many times over. I’ll bet he even gets a lifetime achievement award and heck, even a Kennedy Center Honor before it’s all said and done. Does this year’s winner deserve a Marconi? Yes, absolutely—someday. Just not this year.