for friends and supporters of wgbh
summer 2008
“ Together with other like-minded WGBH supporters, we can help give Frontline the time and resources it needs to inform the world on vital issues.”
H a n n e a n d Jer emy Gr a n th a m
Frontline Executive Producer David Fanning
New Frontline Journalism Fund Sheds Serious Heat . . . and Light
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hen voters go to the polls in November, one of the pressing issues on their minds will be the global climate crisis. Fortunately, Frontline’s broadcast of Heat two weeks prior will provide the electorate timely content—and context—about what Frontline executive producer David Fanning and some generous WGBH supporters agree is “a defining story of our times.” “It will require extraordinary leadership to set the country on a future path, and to inspire citizens, business, and the government to find solutions to this global dilemma,” Fanning says. “We hope Heat can contribute to that national dialogue.” Heat is the latest installment in Frontline’s extraordinary 25-year roster of outstanding investigative reports, for which the WGBH-produced series took home a special News and Documentary Emmy last fall. The two-hour special, airing Tuesday, October 21 at 9pm on WGBH 2, spans the globe to discover what the world’s largest corporations are willing and able to do to address the worsening climate problem. Veteran Frontline producer/correspondent Martin Smith takes viewers from coal mines in Appalachia to the corridors of power in Washington, from drought-stricken villages in Africa to the melting glaciers of Mt. Everest. Along the way, the audience gets a close-up look at the impact of climate change on some of the planet’s most sensitive ecological systems, and innovative ideas for reducing carbon emissions. “A project like Heat is an enormous endeavor,” Fanning says, “requiring resources far beyond Frontline’s usual documentary budgets. Public broadcasting’s brand of enterprise reporting can take months, even years.” That’s where the generosity of Hanne and Jeremy Grantham comes in. Their Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment has helped launch WGBH’s new Frontline Journalism Fund to support “the high-quality investigative journalism that is required to gather facts and put them into an understandable context,” say the couple. Given the trend in American commercial media to all but abandon investigative journalism, the Fund has been established none too soon. “Together with other like-minded WGBH supporters, we can help give Frontline the time and resources it needs to inform the world on vital issues,” the Granthams add. WGBH Overseer Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan share that sensibility. “We’ve always loved Frontline for its probing journalism,” the couple say. “We couldn’t imagine who could better tell the story of what really is going on with global warming and its impact on our world.” With Heat in the final editing stages, Fanning is looking ahead to more timely Frontline explorations. “Frankly,” he says, “we wouldn’t be able to do this work without the support of donors like Hanne, Jeremy, Laura, and Scott, who recognize the value of our journalism. “Our ability to tackle ambitious topics and ask tough questions is what distinguishes us from our commercial and cable counterparts,” Fanning adds. “It’s why we’re here. And why the Frontline Journalism Fund will help us thrive.”
Smokestack heat clouds the sun
pbs.org/frontline As with all Frontline projects, the broadcast of Heat begins a conversation that continues online at pbs.org/frontline—giving a growing Web audience the opportunity to watch the program when and where they choose, as well as access to a rich collection of interviews, timelines, transcripts, and resource links from hundreds of Frontline documentaries. To date, the more than 70 programs video streaming on the Frontline website have drawn a total of 32.4 million views. In addition, visitors to Frontline’s site have downloaded more than 48 million pages over the past year. To learn more about the Frontline Journalism Fund, contact WGBH Vice President for Development Winifred Lenihan at 617.300.3804, or email win_lenihan@wgbh.org.
I nsid e View from the President.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Making Science Accessible.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Ralph Lowell Society Bulletin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Rey Fellow Still “Curious”.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Regarding Henry!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Bogota to Falluja? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Sharing the Vision
Summer 2008
View from the President
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his is an exciting moment for all of us who care about WGBH and public media. We’ve settled successfully into our environmentally friendly new home without missing a beat. Built for the digital age, our facility is fostering a heightened level of creative collaboration—not just among our talented staff, but also with our loyal supporters and the public we serve. Just as our move to Brighton marks the beginning of a new era for WGBH and public media, it also signals a clear challenge: WGBH has a secure home. Now, we need to shore up our financial future so that we have the flexibility to pursue inspired new projects in today’s dynamic media environment. As you know, WGBH’s relocation coincided with a smooth transition in leadership. Longtime President Henry Becton, Jr. has taken on a new role as vice chair of the Board of Trustees and senior editorial advisor, and I’ve stepped up to the presidency. I feel doubly blessed: What CEO wouldn’t want to work with a public media visionary as respected as Henry, and an industry leader as talented as our Board of Trustees Chair Amos Hostetter, Jr.? Regarding Henry, it was my pleasure to host the April celebration honoring his decades of public service (see page 7) and welcome so many generous friends of The Becton Fund. Established during our Breaking New Ground Campaign to honor Henry’s legacy, the Fund— which now stands at just over $6 million and counting—will support the next generation of creative excellence at WGBH through fellowships to promising young producers. Today, WGBH is moving forward thanks, in no small part, to some extraordinary people who’ve matched their passion with their philanthropy. Several are profiled in these pages: Hanne and Jeremy Grantham and The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, along with WGBH Overseer Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan, whose commitment to public affairs inspired them to help establish the Frontline Journalism Fund; and The Grousbeck Family Foundation, whose generosity will enable our Media Access team to make science education accessible for students who are blind or have low vision. Thanks to them, thanks to you, WGBH will continue to make a real difference in people’s lives, and have impact for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Jonathan C. Abbott President and CEO
“. . . WGBH will continue to make a real difference in people’s lives, and have impact for generations to come.”
Soaring High It’s official. The dollars are all counted, and the news is stunning: Our Breaking New Ground Campaign topped the $64 million mark, setting a new bar for philanthropic giving to WGBH.
“We’re grateful to the more than 25,000 donors across New England and the nation whose generosity helped us relocate to Brighton,” says Chair of the Board of Trustees Amos B. Hostetter, Jr., “including the major donors and WGBH board members (many of whom have been profiled in these Sharing the Vision pages throughout the Campaign), whose lead gifts have made this milestone possible.” Hostetter adds, “This vote of confidence has allowed us to create an endowment to support our remarkable new studios, and build a Strategic Opportunities Fund to fuel new creative projects.”
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Hamblett Fund Honors Public-Spirited Publisher
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Learning to navigate: Screen magnifiers and a large print keyboard enable this Perkins student to work independently
A Partnership to Make Science Accessible for All
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ow do you teach a child who is blind about the mechanics of the human heart? Or the wonders of the solar system? Or what whale ears look like? Even for the most skillful educator, it can be daunting to help visually impaired students grasp basic science concepts and contextualize the world around them. That challenge is about to get easier, thanks to a generous grant from The Grousbeck Family Foundation, whose philanthropic interests include education, eye research, and social service. The gift will allow WGBH’s Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) to collaborate with The Perkins School for the Blind on a pilot project that uses WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain digital library (see below) to create science curriculum units that are accessible to blind and low-vision students. “We are grateful to The Grousbeck Family Foundation for giving us the opportunity to partner with Perkins teachers and jointly explore a resource that all teachers of visually impaired students can benefit from,” says NCAM’s Trisha O’Connell. “Our goal is to design a model that will enhance learning at Perkins in the near future, and in classrooms across the country over time.” Having access to Teachers’ Domain Web materials—with built-in adaptations for students with sensory impairments—is consistent with the Watertown-based Perkins School’s longstanding commitment to innovative, technology-based learning. “Our science teachers are able to do things like adapt periodic tables and molecular models,” says W. Robert Hair, education director at Perkins’s Lower School Program, “to help their students become scientifically savvy world citizens.” Citing WGBH’s captioning, Descriptive Video Service® and motion picture access MoPix® services, Hair adds, “WGBH has been a pioneer in creating technology for people with vision or hearing disabilities. Enabling us to draw upon its Teachers’ Domain assets,” he continues, “is another example of the leadership in breaking barriers, and meeting unmet needs, that we’ve come to expect from our Brighton neighbor.” Becky Hoffman agrees. A veteran Perkins educator who works with young teens in all major subject areas, Hoffman has a particular interest in making science come alive for her students. “One of my most time-consuming jobs is reformatting materials,” she says, adding, “I’m really looking forward to September. Knowing that I can turn to the Teachers’ Domain website for accessible lesson plans will leave more time for teaching—a definite plus.” Translation: Match some Grousbeck generosity with some WGBH creativity and a helping of Perkins staff talent . . . and deconstructing the life cycle of a seed plant just got a lot more user-friendly for some lucky learners in Watertown.
www.teachersdomain.org Teachers’ Domain, WGBH’s fee-based online digital library of multimedia resources and professional development courses, helps busy K-12 teachers enrich their lessons and excite students. Launched six years ago, the groundbreaking online service already has widespread and demonstrated impact, as evidenced by more than 8 million site visits and 211,000 registered users from 162 countries (including 51% of the public schools in the United States). The service’s expanded science collection, parts of which soon will be made accessible to students at The Perkins School, includes a treasure trove of materials that encourages teens everywhere to explore Cool Careers in Science.
e was an unpretentious man called “Steve” by both governors and janitors. A newspaper magnate whose career spanned presidential administrations from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush. A quiet but forceful presence in the rebirth of downtown Providence. And a voracious reader of history who loved to pour himself a bourbon and water, loosen his tie, and sit down in his favorite chair to watch The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He was Stephen Hamblett, a former WGBH Overseer, who began at The Providence Journal as an advertising clerk in 1957 and retired as its publisher and chief executive in 2000. Along the way, Hamblett built his beloved ProJo into a Pulitzer Prize-winning national multimedia corporation and left a legacy of good works.
Under sail: The Hambletts aboard the Passing Fancy
“Steve made it a priority to forge connections between the nonprofit and corporate sectors, strengthening their advocacy base,” says his widow, Jocelin Gerhardt Hamblett. “He knew his life had been enriched by his experiences, and with his generous nature, felt a responsibility to give back to the community he loved. He donated hours of his time, not just dollars, sitting on many boards, and reading stories to young schoolchildren.” A longtime WGBH supporter, Steve Hamblett died in 2005 at the age of 71. His commitment to investigative journalism and public media lives on at WGBH through the establishment, by his wife, of an endowed fund in his memory and the dedication of a Frontline editing suite in his name. “WGBH presents its news coverage in a fair, honest, unbiased way,” Jocelin Hamblett says. “Steve strongly supported these ideals, both philosophically and financially.” Commenting on the Hamblett gift, WGBH President Jon Abbott calls it “fitting to link Steve’s legendary name with our mission, both programmatically through the endowment and physically through a named space in our new studios.” To learn more about how you can create a named endowed fund at WGBH, contact the WGBH Office of Planned Giving and Endowment at 800.220.7122 or email planned_giving@wgbh.org.
Sharing the Vision
Summer 2008
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Bulletin Dear RLS Supporters,
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ne of the great things about being involved with the Ralph Lowell Society is the opportunity to attend interesting behind-the-scenes events at WGBH and meet wonderful friends, old and new. I was delighted to see so many of you at our Super Science Sunday Kids’ Event, where we helped launch the second season of Design Squad, WGBH’s popular engineering competition/reality show for ’tweens (see photos, at right). Who better than an energetic 20-something MIT grad to inspire kids to ponder the possibilities of science and engineering? Nate Ball’s talents are multiple: he’s a mechanical engineer, an inventor, an entrepreneur, a pole vaulter, and a jazz pianist. (And he certainly held the interest of my daughter Katherine, shown here with Nate and yours truly!) The timing of the family-friendly April afternoon couldn’t have been better: A few days prior, Design Squad won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, the broadcast industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer, for its ambitious first season, yet another reminder of the value of WGBH’s productions to audiences and critics alike. Without Ralph Lowell Society support, without you, WGBH simply could not produce and deliver outstanding programs like Design Squad. And with the increased creative opportunities WGBH’s all-digital Brighton studios make possible, our Ralph Lowell Society gifts are more crucial than ever. Whether it’s high-quality children’s fare or history or mystery that you’re after, a quick scan of the program pipeline signals the impact of our annual support. Looking ahead to the fall, new WGBH productions include:
All Hands On: Super Science Sunday! Super Science Sunday, the first Ralph Lowell Society Kids’ Event in WGBH’s new Brighton studios, was a special afternoon of hands-on science activities and RLS family fun. Guests brought their curiosity and creativity, WGBH supplied the challenges. Kids made shadow puppets to learn about the properties of light, scored some hang time by crafting paper helicopters, designed ping-pong zip fishing lines, and got a sneak peek at the eco-friendly second season of Design Squad, WGBH’s hit engineering competition/reality show for ’tweens. The series’ high-energy new host, MIT-trained mechanical engineer and inventor extraordinaire Nate Ball, was on hand (and high up) to demonstrate how science and engineering can be fun . . . for RLS kids of all ages.
WGBH President Jon Abbott with Overseer Ranch Kimball, his wife, Alexa, and their sons Bradford and Ranch A. Olivia with Ruf f Ruf e Curious Georg
fman of Fetch! fa
offers fan Alexis a hug
Martha Speaks, an animated talking dog brings her love of words to the preschool set, helping to build one of the cornerstones of reading: vocabulary (September) Frontline: The Choice 2008, a dual biography of the two presidential candidates (October), and Masterpiece Contemporary: The Last Enemy, a “surveillance society” thriller set in technologically paranoid London (October) Of course, all eyes will be on Heat in October (see cover story), Frontline’s long-anticipated investigation of the global climate crisis. As we approach the last quarter of WGBH’s fiscal year, a reminder to please send in your renewal. If you’re not sure when your annual contribution comes due, feel free to contact the WGBH Major Gifts team. Thank you for choosing to make WGBH a priority in your life. Best regards for a fabulous summer!
Susan P. Stickells Chair, Ralph Lowell Society
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A budding engi neer takes the cup-stacking ch allenge
RLS kids look w-a-a-a-y up in awe as Design Squad’s Nate Ball scales the Yawkey Atrium on an Atlas Rope Ascender—his own invention!
me
Borrowing Privileges
Nuanced simplicity: Southwest Abstract II by Wilda Gerideau-Squires
Wilda Gerideau-Squires: A Passion for Photography
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ilda Gerideau-Squires is an award-winning fine art photographer who has garnered international recognition for her abstract, human interest, and landscape imagery. The Andover resident is a graduate of the College of DuPage, has studied at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and is an exhibiting member of Women in Photography International, the Photographic Society of America, and the Royal Photographic Society of the United Kingdom. Working out of a studio in Lowell, Gerideau-Squires creates photographs that have been exhibited throughout the US and abroad. Her most recent body of photographs is a collection of abstract images that evolved “through the interplay of fabric and light.” “Whether on a ferry crossing Hong Kong harbor, a street corner in Saint Petersburg with Helsinki on the horizon, or my own backyard,” the native New Yorker says, “images always arise before me that beg to be captured and shared.” WGBH’s Diane Carasik Dion recently spoke with the artist, a Ralph Lowell Society member, about her passion for her work— and for WGBH’s.
How long have you been a Ralph Lowell Society member?
For two years. What’s on the Gerideau-Squires short list of WGBH favorites?
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Antiques Roadshow (I appeared on the program in 2000!), Greater Boston, Washington Week, Great Performances, and the WGBH Auction. What are some of your non-artistic interests?
My family, gardening, and international travel. I’ve visited Western Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. How does WGBH’s creative mission mesh with your own worldview?
My travels have convinced me that Americans need more global perspective. And WGBH’s “agenda-free” public affairs programming helps provide that. Why have you made annual giving to the Ralph Lowell Society a philanthropic priority?
It’s our annual support that enables WGBH to create content that celebrates diversity, which is absolutely critical in today’s world.
Ralph Lowell Society Membership Levels
• $25,000 and above B e n e fa c t o r • $10,000–$24,999 S p o n s o r • $5,000–$9,999 F e l l o w • $2,500–$4,999 M e mb e r • $1,500–$2,499
Masterpiece Mystery! Foyle’s War
The final three episodes of the popular World War II whodunit stars Michael Kitchen as the no-nonsense Detective Chief Superintendent. Nova ScienceNow Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson brings
his cosmic perspective to a new season of fastpaced sci-tech stories. Masterpiece The Complete Jane Austen
Seven lavish productions: Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Miss Austen Regrets. Need we say more? The Jewish Americans
David Grubin’s sweeping saga of immigration and assimilation. American Experience The Presidents
Seven 20th-century bios, FDR to George H.W. Bush.
To request a video or DVD, call the Ralph Lowell Society Hotline, 617.300.3900, email ralph_ lowell_society@wgbh.org, or make an online request at wgbh.org/ralphlowellsocietyvideo. For information and updates on WGBH’s expanded TV channel menu, go to wgbh.org/ tvchannels. For schedules, wgbh.org/schedules.
Pat r o n
For a complete list of the benefits and privileges at each membership level, please call the Ralph Lowell Society Hotline at 617.300.3900, visit wgbh.org/ralphlowell, or e-mail ralph_lowell_society@wgbh.org. We welcome your questions and value your support!
There are more ways than ever to enjoy your favorite WGBH programs—more choice, more convenience, more channels! In addition to multiple opportunities to watch shows on WGBH 2 and 44, you can access many signature WGBH productions On Demand (if you are a Comcast Digital Cable subscriber) and via our cable channels WGBH World, WGBH Create, and ’GBH Kids. But there’s another kind of “on demand” option, exclusively for Ralph Lowell Society members: requesting a video or DVD from the Video Lending Library. All it takes is a simple phone call or email. If you miss the summer premieres of Masterpiece Mystery! or Nova ScienceNow, or if any other favorites below warrant a second look, just let us know; we’ll do the rest!
The Ralph Lowell Society Bulletin is a publication of WGBH One Guest Street • Boston, Massachusetts 02135 617.300.3900 • e-mail: ralph_lowell_society@wgbh.org Website: wgbh.org/ralphlowell Chair, Ralph Lowell Society • Susan P. Stickells Director, Ralph Lowell Society • Zena Lum Development Associate, Ralph Lowell Society • Lance Brisbois
Sharing the Vision
Summer 2008
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Still Curious: Carol Greenwald Named Rey Producer
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rowing up in Youngstown, Ohio, Carol Greenwald loved the Curious George books. As a young mother a few decades later, she read all of the classic Margret and Hans Rey-penned adventures to her own son and daughter. Curiously (or perhaps not), Greenwald has been named WGBH’s Margret and Hans Rey/ Curious George Producer for 2008. An honor made possible via a bequest from the late author and longtime WGBH supporter through the Curious George Foundation, the endowment enables a producer to work in an area that reflects the broad interests of Rey during her lifetime, including science, public affairs, the arts, health, and children’s programming. Which makes Greenwald, executive producer of WGBH’s hit series Curious George— the most popular show on American television for the two-to-five crowd, and one of the most-visited kids’ sites on pbs.org—an ideal choice. “Carol began at WGBH on the administrative end, but it was clear early on that her talents knew no limits,” says WGBH Vice President Brigid Sullivan, whose vision and passion guide all of WGBH’s children’s programming efforts. “She is richly deserving of the Rey Producership, which honors the creators of one of the most beloved characters in all of children’s literature.” Greenwald, the sixth WGBH staffer to receive the Rey award, has “always loved children’s literature and wanted to create children’s TV programs.” In the early 1980s, when WGBH redoubled its commitment to the genre, the
Literature lover: Carol Greenwald
Antioch College graduate got to demonstrate her skill at bringing books to TV as an original creator of the fairy talebased series Long Ago & Far Away. From there, she went on to co-create and executive produce the first eight seasons of Arthur, executive produce its spinoff Postcards from Buster, and produce Time Warp Trio. Her work has garnered numerous major awards, including three Emmys and a George Foster Peabody (the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer) for Arthur. Serving as director of development for children’s programming at WGBH since 1992, Greenwald also has contributed to the evolution of Zoom, Between the Lions, and Peep and the Big, Wide World.
Presently, Greenwald is putting the finishing touches on George’s fourth WGBH-produced season, as well as planning a 2009 holiday special starring the mischievous monkey. Come September, she’ll launch WGBH’s newest children’s series, Martha Speaks, an animated adaptation of Susan Meddaugh’s popular books about a talking dog, to help preschoolers master vocabulary skills. As with George, Martha is “a fabulous character with a proven literary history,” Greenwald says. “Our challenge in moving literature to the screen always is to keep those core pieces intact, then add a curriculum-based layer, without forgetting the essential ingredient: entertainment.” Greenwald and her husband, John Brouder, a consultant with Boston Benefit Partners, live in Winchester. The son and daughter she once read Curious George to now are in college. WGBH’s newest Rey Producer regrets never having met the celebrated couple who introduced the world to Curious George in 1941. But a connection with Lay Lee Ong, a close Rey friend and literary executor of the Curious George Foundation, has helped guide Greenwald “in honoring the spirit of Margret and Hans’s original stories.” “When Lay Lee tells me I’ve ‘really captured’ George,” Greenwald says, “nothing could please me more.” To learn more about how you can endow a WGBH fellowship or position, contact the WGBH Office of Planned Giving and Endowment at 800.220.7122 or email planned_giving@ wgbh.org.
Creating a Legacy, Generation to Generation
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alerie Mills loved dogs, London, Another member of that generation, Henry and public broadcasting. Especially Becton, Sr., also has fond memories of his sister, WGBH. Her generosity toward Valerie. Along with a third sibling, Suzanne, the Boston public media flagship the pair grew up together in New Jersey. was rooted not only in her The elder Becton recalls his sister affinity for its mission, but Valerie as public-spirited even in also in familial love and those early years, throughout pride: Henry Becton, Jr., her undergraduate days at WGBH’s president for Sarah Lawrence (where she more than two studied with PBS luminary decades, is her Joseph Campbell), and nephew. In 1982, well into her adult life in Mills created a trust Florida, North Carolina, that included WGBH and England. as a beneficiary, “Val was a civic-minded and she remained and involved woman,” her a generous WGBH brother says, “as well as an supporter until her adventurer. She and her death in 2006. husband made safaris to Africa “I was bowled over and India.” when Aunt Val made her first But it likely was Mills’s London of many gifts,” Becton says. life that most informed her public Valerie Mills, circa 1960 “I took it as a warm personal television tastes. “Aunt Val was an endorsement. It’s wonderful to have Anglophile,” remembers WGBH’s Becton. the approval of the prior generation.” “She had a flat in Cadogan Square, where I would
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visit. She was a keen critic of WGBH programs, with a sharp eye for quality.” When Mills was on this side of the pond, he adds, “she especially valued the Masterpiece Theatre tapes I’d send; they allowed her to keep up with the very best in British drama.” Valerie Becton Mills drew enormous pleasure from watching videos of other WGBH series, as well, says her nephew. And she got a special thrill knowing the programs were produced under his stewardship. In Henry Becton, Sr.’s estimation, his sister’s generosity toward WGBH “speaks to the high regard in which she always held her nephew and his role in guiding WGBH to national prominence. Not having had children of her own,” he adds, “Val was, above all, a very proud aunt.” Gifts to the WGBH Endowment enable WGBH to make commitments to promising new projects. To learn more about planned gifts, contact the WGBH Office of Planned Giving and Endowment at 800.220.7122 or email planned_giving@wgbh.org.
WGBH President Jon Abbott with Becton Celebration Co-Chairs (and Event Impresarias) Ann Gund and WGBH Trustee Marjie Kargman
Regarding Henry . . .
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GBH changed its name to WGHB for one night only to honor the man known as “the heart and soul of public broadcasting,” Henry Becton, Jr. The Calderwood Studio celebration applauded the accomplishments of Henry’s 38-year WGBH tenure—24 as president, now as Trustees vice chair and senior editorial advisor. WGBH President Jon Abbott hosted the evening, which featured presentations from journalist Judy Woodruff, who recalled key leadership moments in Henry’s career, from Death of a Princess to Postcards from Buster; master carpenter Norm Abram, who presented Henry with an Adirondack chair made in his New Yankee Workshop; hip-hoppers and rappers, who put a new spin on the classic Masterpiece theme; and actresses Jean Marsh and Kim Cattrall, who noted Henry’s pivotal role in the history of TV drama. WGBH 89.7’s Eric Jackson introduced Broadway great Barbara Cook, who wowed the crowd with renditions of “Wonderful Guy,” “I Got Lost in His Arms,” and “Some Other Time.” Proceeds from the event go toward The Becton Fund, which now stands at just over $6 million and will award annual fellowships to promising young producers to carry on Henry’s legacy of excellence. All in all, a swellegant, elegant salute to a wonderful guy.
Henry with Ned Johnson and Ann Macy Beha
WGBH Trustees Silvia Gosnell and Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
Family affair: Henry is flanked by sister Cynthia Becton, son Will, and twin Bitsy Bacon at left, with wife Jeannie and daughters Sarah Becton Ardrey and Eliza Becton, at right
Caroline Mortimer and Wendy Shattuck
Pete Nicholas, John Keane, and Neil Pappalardo
Author/historian David and Rosalie McCullough with WGBH Trustee Lia Poorvu
David Rockefeller, Jr. and Ann Gund
Journalist Judy Woodruff with Suzy and WGBH Trustee Jack Reno
Chair of the Board of Trustees Amos and Barbara Hostetter with the man of the hour
WGBH Trustee Chris McKown with WGBH Overseer Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan
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for friends and supporters of wgbh
summer 2008
Presorted First Class Mail U.S. Postage Paid Boston, MA Permit No. 57842
One Guest Street Boston, MA 02135 wgbh.org
With apologies to Andy Warhol (!), Henry Becton and actress Kim Cattrall, Broadway’s Barbara Cook, and Rennie Harris Puremovement (far right) took center stage in WGBH’s new For mo r e on Calderwood Studio for one night only. th e
B ecton B a sh , s e e pa g e7
Bogota to Falluja: Marcela Gaviria New McGhee Fellow
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rontline producer Marcela Gaviria didn’t set out to be a war journalist. But as a young filmmaker making her start in Colombia during the 1990s, she quickly found there was only one story in town. “I never sought dangerous assignments,” Gaviria says. “But in those days, the drug story was front and center.” So Gaviria, who was born in Bogota and educated at Brown and Columbia, decided to work the beat. She put in several years as a fixer and translator for foreign crews. Her specialty became tracking down drug barons, a knack that led award-winning Frontline producer/correspondent Martin Smith to hire her on the series Drug Wars. That, in turn, resulted in a job offer at Rain Media, Smith’s New York production company. “Marcela is a rare find: talented, thoughtful, hard-working, versatile, and gracious,” Smith says. “She’s a superb reporter but also someone who understands intuitively that in this work one must be ready to wear many hats or helmets.” Nine years and 15 Frontline films later, Gaviria has created a body of international reporting that has garnered every major award
For general information, please contact
Sharing the Vision
in broadcast journalism, including an Emmy and two duPont-Columbia batons. To this already impressive list of accolades Gaviria recently added another: she is the 20082009 recipient of the Peter S. McGhee Fellowship. The honor, which was established upon the retirement in 2002 of WGBH’s longtime vice president for national programming, is a rotating annual award that recognizes a mid-career filmmaker “who has shown exceptional promise in the production of non-fiction television, and whose work reflects the attributes used to define the standard set by Peter over three decades:
Winifred Lenihan Vice President for Development
Sharing the Vision is a publication of WGBH
WGBH One Guest Street Boston, MA 02135
Director, Editorial Resources Cynthia Broner
617.300.3804 win_lenihan@wgbh.org
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On location: Marcela Gaviria in Sa’na, Yemen
Summer 2008
Associate Director Susan Reed
Writer/Editor Diane Carasik Dion Publication Coordinator Yasmin Omer Designer Danielle Edson Design Coordination/Production Lisa Abitbol, Mark Hoffman
excellence, intelligence, fairness, passion, and scholarship,” says Margaret Drain, McGhee’s WGBH successor. “Marcela,” Drain adds, “is the perfect fit.” Over the years, Gaviria’s films for Frontline have spanned a broad range of issues, from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in The Storm; to the planning for post-war Iraq in Truth, War and Consequences; to the debate over the prescription of psychiatric medications to children in The Medicated Child. During her McGhee Fellowship year, Gaviria will make her seventh trip to post-war Iraq for a new Frontline film, which will look at the prospects for American withdrawal. Enduring Baghdad’s summer heat may not be every filmmaker’s dream job, but Gaviria wouldn’t have it any other way. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing,” she says. “It’s a privilege to have a front-row seat on history.” To learn more about how you can endow a WGBH fellowship or position, contact the WGBH Office of Planned Giving and Endowment at 800.220.7122 or email planned_giving@wgbh.org.
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