Professors from Colleges Nationwide Meet Producers and Leading Television Executives at Television Academy Foundation Conference

Executive Producer Harry Friedman (8th from right) with the recipients of the Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships at the Television Academy Foundation’s 2022 Media Educators Conference on Oct. 28 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images) 

‘Media Educators Conference’ Connected Faculty With Industry Heavyweights for the Latest in Media Trends

Eighty-two media educators from colleges and universities nationwide connected with leaders in the entertainment industry over the weekend (Oct. 27-29) at the Television Academy Foundation’s 2022 Media Educators Conference.

The annual three-day conference, designed to update faculty on the latest in production trends and insights on shaping the future of the entertainment industry, was held at the Television Academy’s renowned North Hollywood campus—the prestigious home base for the industry’s television community.

Co-chaired by Foundation board members Tina Perry, president, OWN Network and OTT Streaming, and Jamila Hunter, executive vice president of programming and development at Freeform, the event offered a wide variety of curriculum-enhancing seminars on the art, science and business of television and provided invaluable information for professors to take back to their classrooms.

Speakers for the conference included such show-business luminaries as Cris Abrego, Chairman, Banijay Americas, and chair of the Television Academy Foundation; Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Val Cheung, vice president, production, Shondaland; Jo DiSante, vice president, current programming and synergy, ABC; Frank Scherma, president and co-founder of RadicalMedia, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy; Harry Friedman, executive producer, Capital One College Bowl on NBC; Carol Trussell, production executive, Apple; Lisa Hamilton Daly, executive vice president, programming, Hallmark Media; Anya Adams, director and producer (Black-ish; Ginny & Georgia; Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist; The Good Place); Carmen Marrón, director, producer, writer (Queen Sugar; Go For It!; ENDGAME); Pamela Soper, senior vice president programming, CBS Television; Natasha Chen, national correspondent, CNN; and Madeline Di Nonno, president and CEO, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

Panel topics included “Pathways From College to Career,” “Showrunner Superpanel,” “The Power of TV: Producing With Purpose” and “Production: The New Normal.”

During the “Directing for TV” panel discussion at the conference, director / producer Dr. Rachel Raimist (Queen Sugar; The Sex Lives of College Girls) detailed the process of directing episodic television from the first draft of a script through to editing and advised professors on how to best prepare students for the future. “I recommend coming to Los Angeles, working in the industry through internships,” said Raimist. “The No. 1 internship in this business is the Television Academy internship … hands down. My students who have done the internship through this Foundation have excelled.”

“For over 30 years the Foundation has collaborated with industry professionals, creators and top executives to help keep college educators on the cutting edge of the entertainment business so they can provide their students, the next generation of television leaders, with a state-of-the-art education and invaluable insight on obtaining careers in the business,” said Abrego.

Additionally, 26 educators from various colleges and universities across the U.S. participated in the conference as recipients of the Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships, established in 2021 to provide financial aid for eligible attendees.

The 2022 conference was sponsored by Kia America as part of the automaker’s ongoing commitment to higher education. Additional sponsors included Freeform and the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowships is sponsored by the Harry & Judy Friedman Family Foundation, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Village Roadshow Entertainment Group.

About the Television Academy Foundation

Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of television while educating and inspiring those who will shape its future. Through renowned educational and outreach programs, such as The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Project, College Television Awards and Summit, Student Internship and Fellowship Programs and the Media Educators Conference, the Foundation seeks to widen the circle of voices our industry represents and to create more opportunity for television to reflect all of society. For more information on the Foundation, please visit TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.