Conference in support of Independent Media
About The Speakers
Jacques de Suze
As Director of Station Development, Jacques de Suze is involved in Chum International’s (CI) aggressive expansion activities in the areas of format licensing and station franchising based on the internationally acclaimed Citytv and MuchMusic television formats. Bringing his extensive international and new channel start-up experience to bear, de Suze initiates new business projects for CI and also follows up on the installation, servicing and on-going consulting on channel and program development, general station formats, marketing and news programming for CI. Prior to joining CI, de Suze was President of McHugh & Hoffman, Inc. where he consulted with North American networks, local television stations, independent producers and distributors on both programming and the development of station identity. He has worked on numerous international station launches and is widely recognized for his role in creating award winning, high rating newscasts in cities as diverse as London, Prague, Berlin, Lyon, San Juan, Sao Paulo, Vancouver and Casablanca. His relationship with Citytv and its co-founder, President and Executive Producer Moses Znaimer, spans over 25 years beginning with the launch of Citytv’s first news programs.
As President of M & H, de Suze was responsible for new business development and consulting with major market clients in the U.S. and abroad. This included consulting with over 50 clients, involvement in the development of their programming, audience ratings, station/channel imagery, marketing, promotion, and organization and management structures.
In the U.S. and Canada the emphasis was on developing specific strategies for station identity, marketing, news and information programming and audience research. Working with network-affiliated and independent stations, the goal was to improve their competitive position as well as the ratings and the long-term quality of programming and promotion.
Outside North America the consulting has focused on "start-ups" of new stations/channels as well as program, marketing and research strategies for established broadcasters and producers. Projects have included: research and development for all-news channels in the U.S., France and the UK; new commercial station launches in Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Morocco, Puerto Rico; license application and planning for several UK Channels; the launch of Channel 5 in London; the re-launch of EuroNews in Europe De Suze received his BA at Boston University and his MA as well as his M.A.L.D. (International Law, Communications and Development) at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He belongs to the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Association of Television Program Executives, Royal Television Society, and PROMAX Promotion and Marketing Executives in Electronic Media.
Michael Garin
Michael Garin was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Central European Media Enterprises in February 2004. Prior to that, he served on boards of several media and telecommunications companies, including American Media, Inc., AMC Theatres, Cablecom (the largest cable company in Switzerland) and Canal+Nordic (the leading premium pay TV provider in the Nordic region). Between 1999 and 2001, he worked as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Digital Convergence Corporation, an Internet technology company From 1988 to 1999, Garin worked for ING Barings as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Media, Telecommunications and Information Services Investment Banking. At Furman Selz, which was acquired by ING, he was a member of the Management Committee. Garin was responsible for building the firm’s investment banking practice in those respective areas. In 1978, he co-founded a diversified entertainment and communications company Lorimar Telepictures and helped run it until Warner Communications acquired the company in 1988. He is currently on the Boards of American Media and Mortgage IT Garin is a 1968 graduate of Harvard College and has a M.A. in Philosophy and the Arts.
Omer Ghani
Omer Ghani, Director of Business Development at CBNC Arabiya, was part of the initial management team responsible for establishing CNBC Arabiya in the region. He led the initiative in the preparation of the business plan, followed by the execution and launch of the channel in 2003. Subsequent to the launch, Ghani took over responsibility for the sales, marketing and distribution functions of the station in the region, in addition to my role as part of the core management team responsible for strategy development. Currently, Ghani is developing initiatives for the station specifically in identifying and implementing new revenue streams. A graduate from Columbia University, New York, Ghani has over 20 years of business experience, encompassing startup launches, in multiple industries, with the last 10 years being involved with media production and broadcasting.
Harold Fuson
Harold W. "Hal" Fuson, JR. is the senior vice president of The Copley Press, Inc., where his responsibilities include directing the legal affairs of the company, including those of its ten daily newspapers and related operations. He also serves on the privately held newspaper company’s board of directors and advises the CEO on strategic issues.
Previously, Mr. Fuson served as Senior Staff Counsel for The Times Mirror Company (1979-83). He taught journalism at the University of Illinois (1976-79), Cuyahoga Community College (1970-76) and Texas Southern University (1968-1970).
Mr. Fuson serves as a director of the Newspaper Association of America. He is also a member and former chair of the NAA’s Legal Affairs Committee. He is a director and former chair of the board of the Media Law Resource Center; member of the board and executive committee of the California Newspaper Publishers Association and chair of its Government Affairs Committee; and member of the Advisory Board of the Media Law Reporter. He is the recipient of the Illinois Press Association's James C. Craven Freedom of the Press Award (1997) and the author of Telling it All: A Legal Guide to the Exercise of Free Speech (1995) Mr. Fuson is admitted to practice law in Illinois, California and the United States Supreme Court. He received his J.D. in 1975, magna cum laude, from Cleveland State University, his M.S. in 1968 from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and his B.A. in 1967 from Grinnell College, which he serves as a trustee.
Gabriel Chahine
Gabriel Chahine is a Principal with Booz Allen Hamilton based in Dubai, UAE. He is a senior member of the Communications and Media Global Practice. Gabriel has 12 years consulting experience in Middle-East, Europe and the US -- focusing on the Media and Telecom industries with a wide experience base in strategy-based transformation of media businesses. Recent engagements include: Diagnostic, strategy definition, financial planning, and operational planning for a media group (TV, Print); Diagnostic, strategy definition, financial planning, operational planning for a free-to-air satellite Pan Arab TV channel, along with implementation support; Formulation of the audiovisual deregulation strategy in one of the GCC countries
Gabriel holds an MBA from INSEAD and M.S. in telecommunications engineering from McGill University.
Makram Azar
Makram Azar is a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers and Head of the Media Business in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has been with Lehman Brothers since 1990 and has focused on media since 1995 Makram holds a Master’s Degree in Management and Finance from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in Paris and a B.A. in Applied Economics from the University Paris-IX Dauphine.
Andrew Keith McCracken
Keith McCracken was born in Liverpool, England and has enjoyed a career that spans both sides of the Atlantic in international sales and marketing. Prior to relocating to the United States, McCracken moved through the client-side ranks at both CPC (UK) and the Shell Consumer Products Group. In 1979 he was recruited by Minneapolis based Northrup King and relocated to the United States as Director of Sales and Marketing for their consumer products division. In 1984, Keith was appointed President and CEO of Agrigenetics, an international, genetic engineering vegetable seed company.
During Keith’s seven-year career in the North American Seed Industry he was elected President of the National Garden Bureau, a trade association dedicated to promoting gardening in the US. In 1986 McCracken founded the marketing communications agency McCracken Brooks. Under his leadership, the agency gained international recognition for its breakthrough work and was named the Unites States’ Promotion Agency of the Year an unprecedented and still unmatched three years in a row from 1991 to 1993.
Keith is a 17 year member of the Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide (MAAW) and in 1996 he was elected the association’s president. During his term in office, he focused the association’s efforts on strengthening the international infrastructure of the organization while raising the quality of both the association’s professional development and recognition programs. Keith continues to serve as the organization’s global director general.
In April 1999 McCracken resigned his Chairman and CEO positions at McCracken Brooks and in September of that year and he accepted an invitation to become an Adjunct Professor at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota in the MBC program lecturing on Promotion Marketing. In January 2000 McCracken was one of the founding partners of the GEM Group, an international marketing services agency. The business grew quickly over the next five years to over 300 employees in offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
Keith resigned his position of CEO at the GEM group in late 2005 to focus on his work with MAA Worldwide and to form the Drawbridge Group, an international marketing consulting practice and Vismail America, an Internet E-marketing software and service provider, both based in Minneapolis.
Rabih A. Haber
Rabih A. Haber is the founder and Managing Director of Statistics Lebanon Ltd., a company specialized in market, and media research as well to opinion polls since 1992. Previously he was a consultant for the CEO of Tele Liban, the official TV in Lebanon, and for the CEO of Arab Radio and TV (ART) network His numerous accomplishments include executing the first general mapping survey in Lebanon in 1999 preparing a GIS supported with satellite images containing the various socioeconomic and demographic information on Lebanon in 2003, and in 2005 he executed the first ever exit polls in Lebanon. The result was an accuracy rate of 99.20%.
He received his Masters degree in Statistics and Applied Mathematics, Bachelor degree in Chemistry, Masters in Political Sciences and Public Administration, and a Diploma in Navigation.
Mazen Hayek
Mazen Hayek is Managing Director, Manning Selvage & Lee Public Relations (MS&L/Dubai). A 14-year veteran of the Middle East communications industry, Mazen brings expertise in a range of sectors, focusing on corporate and governmental affairs. During the course of his career, he has held various positions, including co-partner of a Beirut-based strategic public relations consultancy that delivered strategic PR advice to high-profile regional clients including heads of state and governments. While at Leo Burnett Middle East, he was entrusted with the brand management of blue-chip clients such as General Motors, Kraft, Kellogg’s and Dubai International Airport.
Mazen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Administration from Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), Beirut. He is also holds a Master of Arts degree.
Salwa Soueid
Salwa Soueid has over 14 years of experience in the broadcast media industry and is a Senior Executive Producer for MBC TV. She has worked seamlessly across two continents on a number of prime time shows both in front and behind the screen. She is constantly sought out to produce big budget productions. Previous prime time productions include: "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", "Big Brother," and "The Investor."
Omar Amanat
Omar S. Amanat, dubbed by Fortune Magazine as one of Wall Street’s "Top Ten Most Influential Technologists," has helped to revolutionize and shape the electronic brokerage industry.
Most recently, Mr. Amanat was the founder, CEO and majority shareholder of Tradescape Corp, a financial technology firm that processed over 10% of NASDAQ’s daily trading volume, which he sold to E*Trade Financial in 2002 for consideration worth $280 million, becoming E*Trade’s largest individual shareholder. Tradescape Corp. was honored by Red Herring Magazine as one of the "Top 50 Private Companies" in the United States in 2001. Its heralded trading platform, Lightspeed, also co-designed by Mr. Amanat, currently processes over 50% of E*Trade’s daily electronic trading volume, and recently received the highest ranking in Barron’s 2004 annual ranking of Top Online Brokerage firms.
Amanat has been featured in various media venues including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Fortune Magazine and is a frequent public speaker, including a potentially ill-fated speech planned at the Windows on the World on 9/11. His business had its largest branch office in the 83rd floor of the World Trade Center destroyed on that fateful day. Since that event, Mr. Amanat’s mission has been finding solutions and fighting the real "war on terrorism" by addressing hatred and humiliation head on and strengthening moderate hands in the Muslim world. He plans to launch a $100 million film development fund with the mission to promote and fund "films that will change the world."
Nasser Saleh Al-Sarami
Nasser Saleh Al-Sarami works at the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) as a consultant who highlights content, targets markets, business models, estimated cost structures and commercial achievements. He develops estimates of the size, growth and characteristics of regional markets targeted by the respective markets, as well as providing cooperation between companies and entities and developing financial models and structural options for joint ventures, new entities, service contract, etc and implementing them. Al-Sarami also works at Elaph publishing house as a consultant.
Nasser pioneered the field of e-publishing in the Middle East while working for Saudi Research and Publishing Company (SRPC), as well as launching the first electronic women’s magazine (www.ansaph.com). He has overseen the implementation and launch of a variety of web sites for print publications, such as Aleqtisadiah, Arriyadiyah, Sayidaty, Aljamila and others, founded the first elitist virtual community for the Arabic press opening the door for interactions and discussions with the public. In addition, Nasser founded the first journalistic archive for all Arab writers, holding all their Saudi Research & Publishing Company published work, rendering this archive as their own personal digital library.
He has also worked as a Regional Director, a columnist, and in editorial duties for Al Yamamah Press Est. (Al Riyadh Newspaper).
Nasser Saleh Al-Sarami earned a bachelor degree in Journalism and Public relations from Imam Mohammed Bin Saud University.
Bassam Tueni
Bassam Tueni is a senior executive at the An-Nahar Group, a leading Arab media group founded in 1933 by Gebrane Tuéni. An-Nahar newspaper quickly became a leading Arab reference and a promoter of the freedom of the press under very challenging circumstances. Tueni is also CEO of Tele Nahar S.A.R.L., owner of the portal www.naharnet.com, a major Arab portal with 3.5 million annual unique visitors from 130 countries and owner of PowerMe Mobile S.A.L, leading provider of SMS and MMS content and mobile solutions in the Middle East. Tueni is a Board member of WAN, the World association of Newspapers.
Previously, Bassam Tueni was Vice President of Finance of the Olayan Group, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate. Tueni received his bachelor’s degree from American University of Beirut and his ACA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Naji Chakhtoura
Naji Chakhtoura brings 10 years of experience spanning Product Management, Marketing, General Management and hands-on in Information and Communication Technologies. He currently holds the position of Manager, Strategic Products at NavLink Inc. (an AT&T affiliated company) focusing on Broadband & Digital Media responsible on qualifying and introducing new service & solution opportunities to the EMEA markets.
For the past couple of years Naji has been working closely with Media Organizations, Telecom Operators & Property Developers on defining its digital strategy and introducing WebTV IPTV & Mobile TV models to the region.
Naji has joined NavLink in 2000 part of the Systems & Network Integration team, he then moved to Pre-Sales, leading its effort in the Middle East region for the past 2 years. Prior to NavLink, he was Web Unit Manager at IncoNet (now iDM) Naji serves on the Brummana High School Old Scholars Association Executive Committee and head the Communications sub-committee also serves on the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce - ICT sub-committee. He was member of the Brummana Sports Club Executive Committee (1996-1998).
Naji received his B.Sc. from the Lebanese American University (LAU), Lebanon, in 1996, and his Executive Education in General Management from INSEAD, France, in 2004. Most recently, in January 2005, Naji was selected by the US State Department for an Entrepreneurial Training, part of the Middle East Entrepreneurial Training Programme, in San Diego, USA.
Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel is the managing editor for the Discovery Channel. In this role, he anchors and produces long form programming examining major global topics and events for the largest cable network in the United States. He joined the network in January 2006.
Ted Koppel is a 42-year veteran of ABC News. Since 1980, he was the anchor and managing editor of ABC News Nightline, one of the most honored broadcasts in television history. As the nation’s longest running network daily news anchor, his interviews and reporting touched every major news story over the past 25 years.
A member of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Koppel has won every major broadcasting award including 40 Emmy Awards, eight George Foster Peabody Awards, 10 duPont-Columbia Awards, and two George Polk Awards. His 10 Overseas Press Club Awards make him the most honored journalist in the Club’s history. He has received more than 20 honorary degrees from universities in the United States.
Before becoming Nightline anchor, Koppel worked as an anchor, foreign and domestic correspondent and bureau chief of ABC News. A native of Lancashire, England, Koppel moved to the United States with his parents when he was 13 years old and became a U.S. citizen in 1963. Koppel speaks fluent German, adequate French, and smatterings of a half dozen other languages. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University and an M.A. in mass communications research and political science from Stanford.
Michael Wagner
Michael Francis Wagner is Assistant Chief of the Audio Division in the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission, a position that he has held for the past three years. Within the Media Bureau, Mr. Wagner writes decision documents involving the regulation of all AM and FM radio stations in the United States. He also responds to a wide range of questions posed by private sector attorneys, media owners and members of the general public, regarding the licensing of stations and the quality of broadcasting signals. Mr. Wagner serves as the Media Bureau's Liaison with the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. The Enforcement Bureau is charged with investigating complaints about radio and television stations throughout the country, and resolving these cases. Mr. Wagner also sits on the Media Bureau taskforce to resolve environmental issues, as they relate to station construction and operation.
Prior to his work in the Audio Division, Mr. Wagner supervised a staff of attorneys in the Media Bureau from 1987 through 2003. Throughout his 23 year career at the Commission, Mr. Wagner has written dozens of commission items on a variety of topics, ranging from alien ownership and station underwriting, to how non-commercial stations get their funding
Mr. Wagner did his graduate work at Ohio State University, where he received his J.D. in law and an M.A. in Communications. His undergraduate degree is in English, from LaSalle College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Audio Division of the Media Bureau licenses commercial and noncommercial educational AM, FM, FM Translator, and FM Booster radio services, and also the noncommercial educational Low Power FM radio service. The Division provides legal analysis of broadcast, technical and engineering radio filings and recommends appropriate disposition of applications, requests for waivers, and other pleadings.
Michael Getler
Michael Getler is the ombudsman for the Public Broadcasting Service. Appointed in November, 2005, he is the first ombudsman in PBS history and the first for any major American general-interest television network or service. As ombudsman, Getler serves as an independent internal critic within PBS, receiving and dealing with commentary and criticism from viewers and seeking to ensure that PBS upholds its own standards of editorial integrity. He writes a regular online column for pbs.org reflecting issues raised by the public and including explanations from PBS and/or assessments from the ombudsman's perspective. And he appears occasionally on the air.
Before joining PBS, Getler was the ombudsman for The Washington Post newspaper for five years. In that capacity, he served as the newspaper's internal critic and as a liaison with readers. He wrote a column for the editorial page on Sunday as well as a weekly internal critique of the newspaper for the staff. Before taking on this position in November 2000, he served as executive editor of the International Herald Tribune from 1996 until 2000. The IHT, an English-language newspaper based in Paris and distributed globally, was owned jointly until 2003 by The Washington Post Co. and the New York Times.
Prior to working for IHT, Getler worked for The Washington Post for 26 years. He joined The Post in 1970 as a military affairs correspondent, covering the Pentagon and defense-related activities in Congress and the White House. In 1975, he became the newspaper's Central European correspondent, moving to Bonn, Germany, and covering most of Eastern Europe in addition to Germany and NATO. In 1980, he returned to Washington in the newly-created position of national security correspondent covering both defense and diplomacy, including arms control. In 1984, he was named London correspondent. In 1985, he returned from London to become the newspaper's foreign editor, responsible for the daily operation of The Post's corps of foreign correspondents. In 1986, he became assistant managing editor for foreign news, overseeing coverage of a period of extraordinary international upheaval during which the newspaper won three Pulitzer Prizes.
From 1961 to 1970, Getler was a reporter and editor on specialized magazines in the defense, aviation and space fields published by American Aviation Publications. In 1966, he won the Jesse Neal Award for reporting from Vietnam, and in 1969, he won the Aviation/Space Writers award for coverage of the Apollo program. In 1992, he was awarded The Post's Eugene Meyer Award for distinguished career service. In 2004, he won an Award of Distinction for Investigative Reporting on the News by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Born in New York City, Getler graduated from the City College of New York and began his journalistic career at The Riverdale (NY) Press while still a college student. From 1956 to 1960, he served as an officer in the US Navy.
Riz Khan
Rizwan Khan, better known as Riz Khan, reported world news as a Senior News Anchor for CNN International, based in Atlanta. He enjoyed hosting the flagship shows for the network, "Q&A with Riz Khan" and "Q&A-Asia with Riz Khan". These interactive shows put world newsmakers and celebrities up for viewer questions live by phone, e-mail, video-mail and fax, along with questions and comments taken from the real-time chatroom that opens half-an-hour before each show. Riz Khan is a key on-air figure in international breaking news. He has hosted major news events from the anchor desk and on location, such as the 1996 and 1999 coverage of elections in India, the 1997 historic election in Britain, and in April 1998 the unprecedented live coverage from the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj- the first such broadcast from any television network in the world. Khan also secured a number of leading interviews - including the world exclusive with Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf, following his coup in October 1999.
Nakhle El Hage
Nakhle El Hage is currently the Director of News and Current Affairs for Al Arabiya News Channel. Hage, heads current affairs in Al Arabiya as well as MBC Channels, who established the Current Affairs department in Al Arabiya as well as launching 15 different programs for Al Arabiyya.
Formally Editor in Chief in MBC Channel, Hage supervised the move of MBC from its London headquarters to its new location in Dubai. After joining MBC as a chief sub editor, Hage worked as editor of the day at MBC Channel in London. Hage has also worked as a war correspondent for Tele Liban and a news writer/reporter/announcer in Radio Voice of Lebanon.
Hage holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in media from the American University in Lebanon.
William M. Campbell III
Named president of Discovery Networks U.S. in May 2002, Billy Campbell is responsible for all aspects of the domestic television division, including programming, production, affiliate sales and marketing, advertising sales, consumer marketing, research, business development and communications. Among his most recent achievements, Campbell led efforts to recruit Ted Koppel to the Discovery Channel for a pioneering multiyear deal in which Koppel, a 42-year veteran of network broadcasting serves as managing editor for the network and will host and produce long-form programming exclusively for the Discovery Channel.
In 2005, Campbell oversaw the Discovery Channel team on the debut of its highest-rated program since 2000, "The Flight That Fought Back." The special told the compelling story of the 33 passengers and seven crew members on United Airlines Flight 93. Campbell has overseen the debut of several other Discovery Channel signature hit series. The channel has also recently launched a host of programming that is breaking ground in new genres and formats, such as "Deadliest Catch" and "Dirty Jobs". Campbell is currently guiding the TLC team in the development of more than 100 programs. Campbell helped launch FitTV (formerly The Health Network) in 2004, as well as the relaunch of Discovery Home Channel (formerly Discovery Home & Leisure Channel) and the transition of Discovery Wings Channel to Military Channel in January 2005, which has resulted in significant ratings increases for the network.
Prior to joining Discovery Networks, Campbell served from 1998 as president of Miramax Television, where he was responsible for all aspects of television, including development, marketing, legal affairs and production. Previously, Campbell was executive vice president, CBS Entertainment. Before joining CBS, Campbell served as senior vice president, drama development at Warner Bros. Television. Prior to joining ABC he worked as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. in New York. A native of Greenville, S.C., Campbell is a 1982 graduate of Harvard and a 1987 graduate of the Harvard Business School (M.B.A.). He was a Rotary International Scholar.
Mary Lou Fulton
Mary Lou Fulton, currently the Vice President of Audience Development at The Bakersfield Californian, has worked in the media and publishing industry for over 20 years. She started a community newspaper serving central Los Angeles after the 1992 riots, leading Internet companies during the dot-com boom and now presently oversees the development and management of new publications, including digital and community-based print, to serve audiences not being reached.
Fulton sits on the Board of Directors for three different groups including The Bakersfield Californian, Independent Newspapers Inc., which is a group of weekly newspapers in Arizona, Delaware and Florida, and is an Advisory Board Member of The Knight New Media Center at USC Annenberg School for Communication and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California since March 2006.
Fulton received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication at Arizona State University. She was named 1985 Outstanding Graduate of the Journalism School and the College of Public Programs. Fulton earned a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and was a National finalist for the 1995 White House Fellowship.
Hazel Reinhardt
As President and founder of Hazel Reinhardt Consulting Services, Reinhardt has taught in the executive education programs at the Media Management Center, a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management and the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. She heads the Media Management Center’s market research team, consults with media companies worldwide on audience and advertising, and conducts demographic analysis for a variety of organizations and businesses.
She has worked in a variety of other market development and demographic companies, including as Vice President of Market Development for Cowles Media Company. Here Reinhardt gained experience in developing strategies and business options. While in collaboration with other corporate and operating unit executives she took action to enhance growth and profitability, identified best practices and standards, managed research process, and applied scientific research models to market analysis. She also was Vice President of Human Resources for Cowles Media Company.
Previously, Reinhardt worked as Director of Research for the Minneapolis Star Tribune where she developed innovative approaches for use of databases for news reporting, revitalized the Minnesota Poll, conducted surveys on newspaper reading and shopping behavior, and developed customer satisfaction surveys for subscribers and advertisers. She has also worked as a State Demographer. Reinhardt earned her BA, MA, and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and has served on numerous professional and community boards including the Upper Midwest Council, a private "think tank" associated with the Ninth Federal Reserve District; Minnesota Council on Foundations; Minnesota Zoological Garden; Brass Tacks Theater; Family and Children’s Service and the Citizens League.
Tom Bettag
Tom Bettag is the executive producer for the Discovery Channel. In this role, he joins Ted Koppel in working with the company’s top executives to develop a slate of long-form programming, including town hall meetings that will examine some of the most important issues in the world today. He joined the network in January 2006.
Bettag was executive producer of daily network news broadcasts for the past 19 years, 14 as executive producer of ABC News Nightline. Between 2000 and 2004, as senior executive producer of Nightline, he also served as the executive producer of the ABC News broadcasts This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Nightline UpClose.
Bettag is the recipient of six duPont-Columbia University Silver Batons, three Overseas Press Club Awards and 30 Emmys, among many other accolades. Nightline was recognized in 2002 with a Peabody Award for Broadcast Journalism, citing over 20 years of excellence in long-form presentations.
Prior to joining ABC News in May 1991, Bettag spent 22 years at CBS News, serving as executive producer of CBS Evening News With Dan Rather from 1986 to 1991. During his tenure as Evening News executive producer, Bettag spearheaded the network's critically acclaimed coverage of the Chinese student uprising in May, 1989 and along with Rather, gained the first television interview with Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Kuwait.
A native of Rockford, Michigan, Bettag received a BA degree in history from the University of Notre Dame in 1966, and an MS degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1967.