The TV academy will only give us partial credit, but — this being showbiz, an industry that cheers chutzpah and ballyhoo — Gold Derby proudly takes full credit for setting Emmy free. On Thursday, when the TV academy posted the lists of top 10 semifinalists for comedy and drama series quietly at its website without issuing a formal press release, its PR spokesman did have this comment ready for reporters: "We thought it a good idea to make sure people weren't forced to get this information from secondary sources but straight from the academy."

Make that "secondary source," please — singular, not plural. No other media outlet I know of has released this Emmy info in the past except Gold Derby, which firmly believes that the Emmys should run an open house. What's the point of conducting the Emmys, after all, if it's not to promote a public discussion of what's the best TV? That means opening up the voting process for us all to see and to harrumph about at each stage, good or bad. The bestowal of that fake gold statuette in the end comes second. Besides, the Oscars publicly announce their semifinalists in every category that involves a runoff, including best foreign film, documentary, visual effects, etc. And the Daytime Emmys — bestowed by that other TV academy out in New York — publicly disclose their runoff lists in the acting races too. Why should the Primetime Emmys be different? They shouldn't.

So Gold Derby has worked tirelessly over the past few years to share this key voting info with you because we think that this is a strong ethical point. And because, well, it's the greatest showbiz award. It has an aura of nobility and fair play that others can't touch because it's the only major showbiz prize that forces voters to view sample episodes in order to vote. That gives underdogs a real chance that they really don't have at other prizes. The greatest legacy of TV Golden Girl, after all, is that her victories helped to save so many TV classics that were low-rated sleepers in risk of being canceled when they struck gold, including "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "All in the Family" and "Cagney & Lacey."

Some media groups did give us full credit for the TV academy finally throwing open its doors this year. And that's nice. Like BuddyTV.com — "Thanks to the hard work of Tom O'Neil at TheEnvelope.com, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences released the official top 10." The New York Post hails us as "enterprising" for our past exposes! And the Washington Post salutes us too