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“From Test Patterns to Pixels: Envisioning the Future of Television” took place on Wednesday, April 8 in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3
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Supporting Syracuse University in ways that make a difference is nothing new to Chris Deyo ’81, G’83. He started when he was still in an undergraduate. “We had no student union on campus back then,” Deyo said.
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Professor Rosemary O’Leary, the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership in the Maxwell School, presented a program based on her new book,
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It’s not every day that aspiring actors and filmmakers get an inside look at the entertainment industry courtesy of Aaron Sorkin ’83, take a master class taught by Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth,
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California alumni received an update on the cutting-edge initiatives in technology, innovation, and interdisciplinary research at Syracuse University
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Each year, high-achieving students from across the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications are offered an insider’s view of their chosen field through participation in the school’s benchmark immersion trips
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Fred Silverman’s impact on popular culture subject of SU symposium |
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Steve Sartori |
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Fred Silverman ’58, left, discusses his career and thoughts on the future of television with 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft ’67. |
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The pioneering work of executive producer and network television executive Fred Silverman ’58—the only person to oversee programming for all three original television networks—was the subject of a daylong symposium hosted by Syracuse University and its S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “From Test Patterns to Pixels: Envisioning the Future of Television” took place on Wednesday, April 8 in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3, and was webcast live. Complete information about the symposium and participants, including videos of all five symposium sessions, can be viewed online at www.silverman.syr.edu. Photos from the event can be viewed at http://photo.syr.edu/Events/silvermansymposium09/.
“Perhaps more than any other network executive, Fred Silverman took the job of running a network and acquiring its programming and elevated it to an art form,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television-radio-film and founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School. After being introduced by Edward Bleier ’51, media consultant and retired network television executive with ABC and Warner Bros., Thompson gave the symposium’s opening remarks and served as host.
Participants for the first session, “The Silverman Years: Setting New Standards for Programming,” included Kal Alston, professor of cultural foundations of education and women’s and gender studies at Syracuse University; William Boddy, professor in Baruch College’s Department of Communication Studies at the City University of New York; Jane Feuer, professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh; Horace Newcomb, Lambdin Kay Chair for the Peabodys, director of the George Foster Peabody Awards Program and professor of Telecommunications at the University of Georgia; Rob Owen ’93, TV editor with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Mary Ann Watson, professor of electronic media and film studies at Eastern Michigan University.
The second session, “Breaking Barriers and Pushing Boundaries,” featured industry luminaries who played central roles in Silverman’s career answering questions posed by panelists from the first session via satellite uplink. Virtual participants included Allan Burns, executive producer whose work includes the The Mary Tyler Moore Show and M*A*S*H; Larry Gelbart, executive producer and writer whose work includes M*A*S*H and Tootsie; Norman Lear, producer and writer whose work includes All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Fried Green Tomatoes and Stand By Me; and John Rich, producer and director whose work includes All in the Family.
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| Participating via satellite uplink were, from left to right, John Rich, Allan Burns, Larry Gelbart and Norman Lear. |
“Television has always been such an integral part of the American landscape, and it’s almost impossible to have an in-depth discussion of the impact of television without mentioning a show or a series connected to Fred Silverman,” said Lorraine Branham, dean of the Newhouse School, who offered welcoming remarks before the afternoon sessions.
The session “Profit and Progress: The Legacy of Fred Silverman” was moderated by Owen. On-campus participants included Marcy Carsey, network executive and executive producer whose work includes The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and That ’70s Show; George Schlatter, executive producer whose work includes Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In and Real People; Bill Small, former television news executive with NBC News and CBS News; and Thompson. Virtual participants included Brandon Stoddard, network executive whose work includes Roots, Rich Man, Poor Man and The Thorn Birds; and Steven Bochco, executive producer whose work includes Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.
“Fred Silverman: In His Own Words,” a conversation between Silverman and 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft ’67, focusing on Silverman’s career and the future of the television industry, was the day’s fourth session.
The session “The Future of Programming and Television Networks” was moderated by Bill Carter, national media reporter with The New York Times. Participants included Carsey; Johnathan Rodgers, CEO of TV One; Walter Sabo, president of Sabo Media and former radio executive with ABC and NBC; and Silverman, with pre-recorded comments from Stoddard.
Silverman is president of The Fred Silverman Co., a multifaceted production and program consulting firm, which he formed in 1982. Most recently, he concluded a two-year arrangement with ABC Entertainment, where he consulted on program planning and scheduling. He is renowned as the executive producer of such popular network television series as Diagnosis Murder, In the Heat of the Night, Father Dowling Mysteries, Matlock, Jake and the Fat Man and The Perry Mason Mystery Movies. He also served as executive producer of Bedtime, an adult comedy serial that aired on Showtime; Bone Chillers, a comedy/horror show that was seen on ABC; and the classic game show Twenty One for NBC.
Silverman earned a bachelor’s degree at Syracuse University in 1958; he is a former member of the University’s Board of Trustees and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal. Upon his graduation from The Ohio State University with a master’s degree in television and theater arts, Silverman joined WGN-TV, an independent station in Chicago. After three years, he moved to WPIX-TV in New York as a program executive. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by CBS.
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