NATAS is the acronym for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a New York-based organization with 17 regional chapters or affiliates in many of the larger television markets. The organization is best known for its Emmy awards which are bestowed on both programs and individuals in a variety of categories.

NATAS was organized in 1957 as an outgrowth of rivalry between two separate academies, one based in Los Angeles and the other in New York. The move to establish a single "national" academy was led by TV variety show host Ed Sullivan, who was elected its first president. The rival New York and Hollywood academies became "founding chapters" of the National Academy and additional chapters were later established in other cities.

The "Emmy" is a variation of "Immy," a nickname for the light-sensitive Image Orthicon tube that was the heart of television cameras during the 1950s and 1960s. The first nationally televised Emmy Awards originated from both New York and Los Angeles in 1955, actually predating the merger of the two academies. These bicoastal presentations continued through 1971 and mirrored the glamour of the rapidly expanding television industry to the point where the Emmy ceremonies were second only to the Motion Picture Academy Awards in terms of audience interest and recognition. After 1971, separate award ceremonies for prime time entertainment programs originated from Los Angeles, while New York remained home for the news and documentary awards.

Relationships between the Hollywood and New York chapters remained tense. Los Angeles producers of prime time programs expressed resentment that their programs were being judged by members in New York and the smaller market chapters who they did not consider their peers. They also resented their minority status on a board of trustees dominated by the New York and smaller market chapters. After John Cannon of New York defeated Robert Lewine of Hollywood for the presidency of the organization in 1976, the Hollywood chapter bolted NATAS and created a separate organization--the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences or ATAS.

ATAS sued for exclusive rights to bestow the Emmy on the grounds that the Los Angeles group had actually given the award several years before NATAS was formed. Litigation by both organizations ended with a compromise. ATAS would retain the Emmy rights for prime time entertainment programming; NATAS would continue to award Emmys for news and documentary, sports, daytime, and public service programming and also for achievements in television engineering.

Initially, NATAS was weakened by the departure of the Los Angeles group. More recently, NATAS has been strengthened by the growing interest in daytime programs (talk shows and soap operas) and by an increase in the number of local market chapters.

Each of the 17 regional NATAS chapters, including New York City, is chartered by the national organization but operates independently in terms of its programs and finances. Other chapter cities currently include: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, South Florida, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. All 17 chapters conduct Emmy awards presentations to honor television professionals in their respective markets. Since emphasis is placed on peer judging, chapters exchange tapes to insure the judging is done by qualified professionals in a different market. The local Emmy statue is a smaller replica of the national Emmy statues awarded by NATAS and ATAS for national programming.

In addition to the Emmy awards, NATAS publishes Television Quarterly, supports a curriculum for junior high and high school students which encourages more critical viewing of television, awards scholarships to college students majoring in communications-related majors, and provides supporting programs for the 17 affiliate chapters. The organization and its chapters have 11,000 individual members.

-Norman Felsenthal