Reese Schonfeld

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Reese Schonfeld
Born
Maurice Wolfe Schonfeld

(1931-11-05)November 5, 1931
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Columbia University (MA, JD)
OccupationMedia executive
Spouse(s)Pat O'Gorman, Karen Lamberti (1959-1970).
ChildrenAlexander, Ellen, Orrin, William, Juliette, Ida
RelativesNed O'Gorman (brother-in-law)

Maurice Wolfe "Reese" Schonfeld (November 5, 1931 – July 28, 2020) was an American television journalist and executive. Trained as a lawyer, he co-founded CNN with Ted Turner in 1980, and went on to establish Food Network in 1993.

Early life and education

Schonfeld was born in Newark, New Jersey, on November 5, 1931.[1] He was of Jewish descent, the grandson of Yiddish-speaking immigrants.[2] His father, Philip, worked as a partner in a glass-and-mirror company; his mother, Sarah (Wolfe), was a housewife, secretary, and bookkeeper. He got the nickname "Reese" as a result of his younger sister's mispronunciation of Maurice.[1] He graduated from Weequahic High School.[2] He went on study at Dartmouth College, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1953.[1] He subsequently earned an M.A. and J.D. degrees from Columbia University.[3][2] However, he never went into practice.[1]

Career

Schonfeld began his career with United Press Movietone News in 1956. Later he became vice president of United Press International Television News; when its U.S. business was purchased by Television News Inc. (TVN) in 1974, he joined that company for a year. In 1975, after TVN folded, he founded the Independent Television News Association, a service that provided independent television stations with pooled news coverage via satellite.[4][5]

Birth of CNN

Cable News Network (CNN).[6] He hired Burt Reinhardt as vice president of the network; Sam Zelman as vice president of news and executive producer; Bill MacPhail as head of sports; Ted Kavanau as director of personnel; and Jim Kitchell, former general manager of news at NBC, as vice president of production and operations.[6] While at CNN, Schonfeld is credited with originating the 24-hour cable news concept. In 1982, Schonfeld was succeeded as CEO by Ted Turner after a dispute over Schonfeld's firing of Sandi Freeman and was succeeded as president by CNN's executive vice president, Burt Reinhardt.[7]

Post-CNN

After leaving CNN, Schonfeld joined

Schonfeld subsequently worked with

Whittle Communications in 1993. He also served on the board of Robert Halmi International before it was sold to Hallmark.[4]

In 1992, Schonfeld began developing

Personal life

Schonfeld was married to Pat O'Gorman from 1978 to his death.[9] O'Gorman was sister to poet Ned O'Gorman,[10] . Together they had one child— Juliette born in 1966, twelve days before the birth of his youngest child with Karen Lamberti his wife at the time. The marriage with Lamberti ended in divorce 4 years after the births of his two last children once the affair became known. Schonfeld had 5 children with Karen Lamberti between 1960 and 1966; Alexander, Ellen, Orrin, William, and Jennifer Ida.[1] Schonfeld was the author of Me and Ted Against the World, an account of the development and early history of CNN,[1] and "The Global Battle for Cultural Domination", an essay in Developing Cultures: Essays on Cultural Change.[11]

Schonfeld died on July 28, 2020, at his home in Manhattan. He was 88 and had suffered from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[1][12]

Bibliography

  • Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN , Harper Collins, 2001,
  • Developing Cultures, Essays on Cultural Change, Routledge, 2006,
  • "Shadow of a gunman", Columbia Journalism Review, 1975. (available to read here)

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sandomir, Richard (July 28, 2020). "Reese Schonfeld, a Founder of CNN and Food Network, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Judith Weinraub interview of Reese Schonfeld" August 18, 2009
  3. ^ James Verini, Reese's Pieces: Mr. Schonfeld, Forgotten Founder of CNN, Is a Man of Many Projects, The New York Observer, January 28, 2001
  4. ^ a b c "Reese Schonfeld". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  5. . 804 pages
  6. ^ .
  7. Washington Post
    . Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  8. ^ "Maurice "Reese" Wolfe Schonfeld, LLB, Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who". 24-7 Press Release Newswire. April 29, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Sugar, Rachel (November 2017). "How Food Network Turned Big-city Chef Culture Into Middle-America Pop Culture". New York. Pat O'Gorman, executive producer, wife of Reese Schonfeld
  10. ^ Martin, Douglas (March 7, 2014). "Ned O'Gorman, 84, Dies; Poet Founded Innovative Harlem School". The New York Times.
  11. .
  12. ^ Stelter, Brian (July 28, 2020). "Reese Schonfeld, CNN's founding president, has died at 88". CNN. Retrieved July 28, 2020.

General

External links