Bob Jacobs is nosy, but that curiosity represents the driving force behind Jacobs' award-winning short TV series for WEEK-TV entitled "Postcards from Home."
"I'm blessed with natural curiosity," said the Bradley professor of communication. "I ride my motorcycle everywhere and I just open my eyes and look around and talk to a lot of people." The "Postcards" series features regular people doing good things. During the summer, Jacobs travels around the country and produces "Postcards from the Road." Two of Jacobs' "Postcards from Home" recently won Telly awards, which honor the best local, regional and cable commercials, programs and video and film productions. More than 13,000 people submitted entries to the international contest, which is judged by television producers and directors from across the country.
"It's a peer review, where your peers are telling you, 'Way to go. You know what you're doing,'" Jacobs said.
Jacobs also captured a Telly in 2009 and won an Emmy in 2000 for "Postcards." But, for as much as he enjoys winning awards, he loves telling good stories about good people even more.
"The nightly news lies to us," Jacobs said. "Because the news tells us it's awful, life is terrible and humans are killers, pimps and drug addicts. And that's not true. A majority of people are doing good things with their lives. I look for stories that prove that point."
One of this year's winning postcards, entitled "The Blue Knight," showcased a former police officer from Bellevue, Ill., who was shot in the face while on duty. The officer, an avid motorcycle rider, lost his vision and could no longer ride. But local members of the Blue Knights, an international law enforcement motorcycle club, allowed the former officer to ride with them on the back of their motorcycles.
The other winning postcard was about a man who won a motorcycle race in Daytona in 1959 and returned to the track 50 years later to race on the same bike.
Jacobs has been producing "Postcards" in the Peoria area for 18 years, including the past 11 at WEEK. He began the "Postcards" series in Bangor, Maine, in 1987 for the NBC affiliate there.
Jacobs has taught television production at Bradley since 1992, bringing with him a resume that includes working for the Walt Disney Company and producing specials for major television networks, including a Simon and Garfunkel special. He expects hard work and dedication from his students, constantly preparing them for the real world and their future careers. During his 18 years on the Hilltop, he's completely revamped the television production program, helped create a production studio and most recently converted from analog to digital equipment.
"People ask when I'm going to retire," Jacobs said. "But retirement is what people do when they want to do what they like to do. I like doing this. I'm not going to quit."
When it airs:
- The 2nd and 4th Friday of every month on the 6 p.m. news
- Re-airs the following Monday at noon
To watch "Postcards from Home," please go to:
