By Shanice Casimiro<\/p>\n
Only a handful of Roman Catholic priests have won Emmys, and this summer Father Michael Russo \u201867\/M.Div.\u201975 became one of them.<\/p>\n
Father Russo, managing editor and host of the \u201cSunday to Sunday\u201d television show, was awarded a 2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Interview Program by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences\u2019 San Francisco\/Northern California chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled about this honor from the television academy,\u201d Father Russo told the Religion News Service. \u201cIt\u2019s truly a culmination of teamwork and support from many, and a sign that our work is having an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Father Russo, retired professor of media studies at Saint Mary\u2019s College of California, has combined media expertise with his religious calling throughout his career. His broad experience includes working as a desk assistant for Walter Cronkite during the broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and serving as a freelance CBS News producer for elections, political conventions and his specialty, the news of religion.<\/p>\n
He spent 10 years in the Seton Hall priest community, teaching at Seton Hall Prep and serving in other capacities at the University. After his ordination from Darlington Seminary in 1971, he obtained a Ph.D. from New York University and earned a Shorenstein fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School.<\/p>\n
As the Archdiocese of Newark\u2019s director of communication, he created \u201cNew Jersey Catholic,\u201d a weekly discussion program on Suburban Cablevision and was appointed to the New Jersey Public Television Commission.<\/p>\n
After retiring from full-time teaching in 2017, Father Russo established \u201cSunday to Sunday,\u201d which explores the art, craft and spirituality of preaching. The program can be seen on America Magazine<\/em>\u2019s website and a growing number of cable news outlets nationally.<\/p>\n The Emmy Award-winning episode, \u201cFather Chris Walsh,\u201d follows a Philadelphia priest as he shares his experiences as the spiritual leader of the African American congregation of Saint Raymond of Penafort.<\/p>\n \u201cI think as we minister, not only to an increasingly non-white Church but also a Church that has very different experiences as far as socio-economics and political experiences, what the Church has done when it\u2019s been its best throughout history is to meet people where they are, understand their needs, and then preach the Gospel to them,\u201d says Father Walsh in the episode.<\/p>\n Other recent episodes feature Father Bob Stagg of the Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, N.J.; Father Manuel De Jesus Rodriguez, pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Jamaica, Queens; and Father Ricky Manalo, a composer\/liturgist and preacher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Only a handful of Roman Catholic priests have won Emmys, and this summer Father Michael Russo \u201867\/M.Div.\u201975 became one of them.<\/p>\n