Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, Named One of Women’s eNews 21 Leaders For the 21st Century 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
New York, NY – The Paley Center for Media announces that President & CEO Pat Mitchell has been named by Women’s eNews as one of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century 2012. Chosen from a reader-nominated list, Women's eNews recognizes these newsworthy individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to improving the lives of women and girls and the capacity to continue to improve the future for all. Among a remarkable array of notable honorees, Mitchell is being recognized for a long career championing new narratives about women and girls in media, and now bringing an international conversation about the media and gender to programs at the Paley Center. All of the honorees will be recognized at a gala benefit dinner on May 3.
For a full list of honorees, go to: http://www.womensenews.org/event-womens-enews-21-leaders-the-21st-century-gala-may-2012
Excerpted from the Women’s eNews release:
Pat Mitchell: Celebrator of New Narratives
Fueled by her career-long commitment to engaging media's power to further empower women, [Pat Mitchell] has created an unprecedented presence for women with a diverse series of initiatives called Women at Paley. It has included forums, a showcase of women who have helped shape the history of media and a current series of programs produced for PBS and hosted by Mitchell, called "She's Making Media."
Partnering with Springboard, Mitchell also offered the first venture capital forum for female media entrepreneurs and, with the Women's Media Center, programs to raise awareness of the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women and girls in mainstream media.
Growing up in Georgia, when women had very few mentors, role models or opportunities, Mitchell's activism on behalf of women was formed early by her participation in the civil rights movement and the women's movement. With a master's degree from the University of Georgia, she taught college for a few years until recruited by Look magazine, which folded a year later. Unemployed, Mitchell successfully pitched a story to NBC's local station news desk, and an unexpected career in television followed.
In 1974, Mitchell created a history-making event for women--24 hours of television programs about women, for women, produced and hosted by women. In the mid-1980s, Mitchell became the first woman to nationally syndicate her own show, "Woman to Woman," which won an Emmy. For NBC's TODAY, she reported women's stories and produced documentaries like "Women in War" and "Century of Women." Mitchell also led Ted Turner's original production division, producing documentaries that won 34 Emmys and two Academy Award nominations. In 2000, Mitchell was named president and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service, the first woman and first producer to hold the position.
In 2010, Mitchell partnered with the TED, the premiere global conference and online organization, to curate the first ever TEDWomen in Washington, DC, followed this year by TEDXWomen which was convened at the Paley Centers in New York and Los Angeles and connected live to 117 TEDxs worldwide. The TEDTalks from these two conferences have been viewed more than 10 million times, spreading the stories, ideas and innovations of women and girls.
"I've strongly felt that media's responsibility is to not just be the mirror of society, but also to engage its power to fully inform as well as entertain, to inspire as well as influence. I consider it a privilege to use my position in media to ensure that the ideas and stories of women and girls are more fully and accurately represented," she says.
Mitchell, who has been on the 100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood list and was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, was named to Newsweek's 2011 list of 150 Women Who Shake the World.
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The Paley Center for Media seeks to preserve the past, illuminate the present, and envision the future through the lens of media. With the nation’s foremost public archive of television, radio and Internet programming, the Paley Center produces programs and forums for the public, industry professionals, thought leaders, and the creative community to explore the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and share news and entertainment. In an era of unprecedented change, the Paley Center advances the understanding of media and its impact on our lives. The Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry. For more information, please visit /.