Executive Director
Stacy Baum
Denver, Colorado
Click to contact Stacy
Stacy Baum has managed all aspects of corporate, non-profit, and political fundraising and communications activities. But at heart, Stacy is a producer. “A month after I graduated from college, Carole hired me to be her 5:00 producer at KVUE in Austin and the remarkable lessons I learned there have not been forgotten," explains Stacy. “It is not an exaggeration to say that Carole changed my life, shaped the direction of my career, and taught me powerful lessons that I am privileged to pass along to my family and colleagues."
Stacy has served as marketing and promotion director at KUSA-TV in Denver, marketing research director for Gannett Broadcasting, press secretary for a member of Congress, and vice-president of marketing & development for Educare Colorado. In addition to her work on The Kneeland Project, Stacy owns a marketing and communications company in Colorado, where she provides fundraising, marketing research, public relations, and strategic planning for her clients.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Stacy and her husband Michael lived in both Austin and Washington, DC before returning to Colorado to raise their two wonderful children.
Faculty
Joan Barrett
Joan Barrett is the president of Sunflower Broadcasting Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schurz Communications Inc. Sunflower operates five television stations: KWCH, KSCW, KBSL, KBSH and KBSD; and four websites, KWCH.com, kansascw.com, CatchItkansas.com, FetchToto.com, and manages KDCU, under a joint sales agreement with Entravision. Joan was named general manager in October of 2003.
Before her promotion, Joan was the news director at KWCH. The Great Bend, Kansas native worked in the television broadcast industry as an anchor, reporter, producer and news manager at stations in: Lubbock, Texas; Topeka, Kansas and Austin, Texas. She was also the vice president of news at KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona. Before coming to KWCH, Joan worked as a consultant and trainer for "The Broadcast Image Group."
Joan served as the Board President of The Kneeland Project for more than five years and was member of the group of Carole's friends and co-workers who established the Project. She was instrumental in helping to develop the organization's one-of-a-kind training, which is based on many of the principles Carole advocated. For the training of new directors, Joan provides training in delegation, decision-making, time management and managing multiple priorities, all based on the lessons she learned from Carole.
She is a board member for the the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, Goodwill Easter Seals, and the Kansas Food Bank. She also serves on the advisory boards for the Elliott School of Journalism at Wichita State University and the A.Q. Miller School at Kansas State University. Under her direction, the KWCH 12 news team won two national Edward R. Murrow Awards. She was also awarded the prestigious Gannett Broadcasting "Award of Excellence." Joan is a graduate of Kansas State University. She now resides in Wichita with her husband Jeff; two sons, Josh and Jake; and two beagles.
Paul Dughi
Paul Dughi is the president of Cowles California Media Company, which owns/operates six television stations throughout California, associated with CBS, FOX, Telemundo and CW networks, as well as a network of 52 news websites.
Paul has 25 years in the broadcasting business working as news director, producer, station manager, and now group president. He has won more than 25 regional, statewide, and national awards from the Radio & Television News Director's Association, Associated Press, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and United Press International for reporting, producing, web, and public service.
Previously, Paul worked as general manager of KNDO-TV/Yakima, WA and KNDU-TV/Kennewick, WA as well as VP/Technology for KHQ, Incorporated.
As vice president & executive director of The Producing SchoolSM at the Broadcast Image Group, Paul worked as a strategic consultant and trainer at some of America's top television stations, including those owned by Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst-Argyle, Post-Newsweek, Cox Broadcasting, Raycom Media, Journal Broadcasting, Freedom Broadcasting, and Fox.
Paul also has worked as news director for WBNS-TV/Columbus, OH, KHQ-TV/Spokane, WA, and WAEO-TV/Rhinelander, WI. Before moving into news and station management, he held positions as news anchor, sports anchor, reporter, producer, executive producer and assistant news director at various stations in the Midwest.
Paul has authored two books on marketing, including “Weapons of Mass Distinction," which helps promotion and marketing executives focus their brand and break through the marketing clutter.
Paul has been married to his wife, Michelle, for 30 years. Together, they have three children and a grandson.
Andrew Finlayson
Andrew Finlayson is the senior vice president of digital media strategies for SmithGeiger, the largest consulting and research company working with local TV stations in the country. He has been a news director in Nashville, San Francisco and Chicago. His past work includes daily business reports to the CBS Radio Station News Service and being the lead producer of the nationally syndicated news magazine "On The Money".
Andrew was the director of online news content for the 16 Fox Television Stations before being selected as a 2009-2010 Knight Fellow at Stanford University where he studied how emerging technologies are changing news consumption
His journalism assignments have taken him to more than a half dozen countries around the world and earned a number of awards, including seven local Emmy awards and a number of AP and Edward R. Murrow regional honors. He is the author of "Questions That Work: How to Ask Questions That Will Help You Succeed in Any Business Situation", which has been translated into four languages and adopted by the American Management Association for a series of national workshops.
Desiree Hill
Desiree Hill is a producer, manager and innovator. She spent a big chunk of her career producing in markets from Ft. Smith, Arkansas to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She specialized in producing breaking news -- especially live tornado outbreaks in Oklahoma, as well as the OKC bombing coverage seen around the world. As a consultant for Audience, Research and Development, she created a special producer web section called "The Producer Page." Desiree was also quoted in and consulted on the textbook, Power Producing by Dow Smith. To this day, Desiree says she is ready to jump in and produce something -- whether it be breaking news, a documentary or just a regular newscast.
In essence, producers are managers. And that's another area Desiree says she's enjoyed in the industry. As VP of News for Pappas Telecasting, Desiree managed multiple news departments and helped managers and staffs navigate difficult challenges. At AR&D, she worked with news directors from coast-to-coast, helping them with routine dilemmas such as impending talent meltdowns or more complex challenges, such as growing ratings and implementing research-based strategies. She says the more crazy and complex the challenge -- the more she enjoyed her job.
Desiree also considers herself an innovator. At Pappas, she was on the team that created one of the first citizen journalism projects in the country. She recently did a social media study of the Tulsa market to create a baseline of information for the academic world. And Desiree has launched a hyperlocal news website in Allen, Texas. She is implementing local news strategies, as well as innovating new thought processes on what news can and should be for a local community.
Valerie Hyman
News & Management Training
St. Petersburg, Florida
(727) 866-3232
ValerieHyman@Betternews.com
Valerie Hyman has worked as a television reporter, newsroom manager, and corporate news executive. She was the founding director of the Poynter Institute's broadcast program, and spent a decade there leading seminars in management, reporting, ethics, and enterprise thinking.
As a reporter, Valerie's honors included the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton, the Peabody Award, and two National Headliner Awards. She spent a year at Harvard as a Nieman Fellow, followed by nearly two years as director of news development for the Gillett Group of network-affiliated television stations.
As president of News & Management Training, Valerie provides workshops for television station groups and newsrooms across the country. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where another of her primary occupations is being "Mom" to Jocelyn and Solomon.
Jacques Natz
Jacques Natz is Director of Digital Media Content for Hearst Television Inc. Jacques oversees news, weather, content and brand development for Hearst's various digital media businesses, including the company's more than two dozen local web and mobile sites, and its digital content partnerships with Yahoo, Youtube, MSN, MSNBC and CNN. He works closely with the 29 Hearst TV stations and digital partner Internet Broadcasting to expand local content on the Company's web sites.
Digital content development for Hearst has centered on innovating impactful ways for stations and their television journalists to tell stories so they can capitalize on multi-platform content development. That innovation includes the surfacing of digital concepts that increase audience and revenue for web, mobile, video syndication and station social networking efforts. Many concepts have been launched with a heavy emphasis on progressive newsgathering and user interactivity and engagement as guiding principles.
Jacques came to Hearst as an award winning veteran news director at some of the nation's top television stations. He has been a news director in Indianapolis, Seattle, and Boston, and held various positions in Detroit, Sacramento, and Chicago throughout his career. Awards have included a Peabody, Columbia Dupont, and countless Murrow and NATAS Emmys.
Jacques is an alumnus of the University of Missouri, School of Journalism, and lives in New York City with his lovely wife.
Chip Mahaney
Chip Mahaney is the Director of Digital Content for The E.W. Scripps Company's broadcast division. He directs online content initiatives and strategies for Scripps' 10 television stations. His mission is to grow the stations' online audience via multiple platforms, including web, mobile, tablet and social media. A lifelong severe weather geek and occasional storm chaser, Chip this year created Scripps' newest online venture, "TornadoAlleyLive.com", which gives users a "live" front-row seat on tornado chases.
A former TV news director and longtime TV news manager, Chip has worked for stations in the FOX O&O, Raycom, Gannett and Belo groups. He has 30 years of experience covering local news, sports and extreme weather, and managing newsroom technology. Over 20 years, he has trained thousands of journalists how to use new technologies and the leadership skills to implement them.
Chip serves on the board of directors of RTDNA, where over the past decade he's produced and/or hosted numerous training sessions. The Fall 2011 Kneeland session is his third as a trainer for the Carole Kneeland Project. He was a Kneeland fellow in 2008. Later this month, Chip will serve as guest faculty for the Poynter Leadership Academy. Chip serves as a professional adviser to Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Chip enjoys running, cycling, tennis and softball, and boring his Cincinnati neighbors and coworkers with long-winded tales from his native Texas, on topics like the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, smoked barbecue brisket and Blue Bell ice cream. His lovely and patient wife of 22 years, Susan, is the best TV news producer he's ever seen in action. She's a three-time "Best Newscast" Emmy winner, with awards from Texas and New York City. They have two children, Andrew and Sarah, two dogs and two guinea pigs.
Josh Rickel
Josh Rickel handles sales and business development for Austin-based social content curation and display company, Mass Relevance. There he works directly with brands, news/media/entertainment companies, sports teams and other businesses on strategies to aggregate, filter and moderate social content for display on broadcast television, mobile devices, LCD screens, online, etc.
Prior to joining Mass Relevance, Josh was Director of Evolving and Mobile Media for the Broadcast Image Group where he advised clients on social media, new technologies, mobile tools and applications, and other services to integrate with and advance their brand strategy and engage their customers.
Before joining The Broadcast Image Group, Josh was a media and communications attorney at the Washington, D.C. law firm, Lerman Senter, PLLC, and served as a law clerk for both the NAB and former FCC Chairman, Michael Powell. Prior to law school, he worked at the William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills, California. He earned his JD from the George Washington University Law School and BS from Northwestern University.
Bob Sullivan
Bob Sullivan is vice president-content for Scripps broadcasting; overseeing content, marketing, research and local programming. Bob is responsible for developing strategic direction for the 10 Scripps Television properties over all media platforms.
2010 marks Bob's thirtieth year in broadcast television and consulting. Before Scripps, Bob was founder, President and CEO of Sullivan and Associates Consulting a marketing and brand development firm. Bob worked with businesses nationwide looking to refine and grow their message in a crowded marketplace including Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream, Taco Time Restaurants, Blimpie Sub Sandwiches, Banner Health, Deloitte, The Pro Football Hall Of Fame and The Competitor Racing Group. He also served as president of The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, responsible for the production, planning and execution of Super Bowl XLII played in Glendale, Arizona on February 3rd, 2008. This game was the second most watched Super Bowl in history and the third most watched television show in US history.
His broadcast client list includes various local television stations and national cable channels including ABC, The Discovery Network, The Learning Channel, and FOX Sports. In addition, Bob has managed a broadcast television group division, (Gannett-CBS) three top fifteen market television stations, one national broadcast television consulting company (The Broadcast Image Group) and six local television news operations. From 2001-2006, Bob oversaw the news, production, engineering, programming and creative services departments at KNXV-TV, the Scripps, ABC affiliate, in Phoenix, Arizona, and generated unprecedented ratings growth. Also during his tenure, the station received numerous honors including the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Emmy Awards for Station of The Year and the 2005 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall News Excellence.
Adam Symson
Adam Symson is the vice president/interactive for the E.W. Scripps television station group and is responsible for the operation, content and revenue of the division's 11 interactive businesses, including community news and information websites in nine local markets across the country. He is also responsible for directing the division's overall growth strategy in the interactive space. Prior to his current appointment, Adam served as the director of content & marketing for the Scripps interactive media division.
Adam joined Scripps corporate in 2002 as the director of investigations and special projects for the television stations group. Shortly thereafter, he was named director of news strategy and operations, with responsibilities for the station's NBC and ABC affiliated stations. Adam first joined the E.W. Scripps Company as the executive producer of investigations and special projects for KNXV TV, the Scripps-owned television station in Phoenix, Arizona. At KNXV, Adam re-launched the ABC15 Investigators and grew it to be a nationally recognized and acclaimed investigative unit, specializing in long-form journalism.
Prior to his work in Phoenix, Adam worked as an investigative producer for CBS stations, WBBM TV in Chicago, and KCBS TV in Los Angeles. He has also worked as an independent producer for CBS News and NBC News, specializing in breaking news and political coverage, and done tours of duty as an assignment editor or producer in newsrooms across Los Angeles, including KNBC TV and KCAL TV. Adam began his broadcast career at KGIL AM 1260 in Los Angeles, California, and he has a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of California, Los Angeles. He lives with his wife Sherri, and daughter Logan, in Cincinnati, Ohio.