as his Institution Resident (R): What does it mean to be New Yorker? Neal Shapiro (NS): It means living in the most exciting city in the world, there is nowhere else like it. I grew up in Albany and I dreamed of living in the city. When I used to read the New York Times as a kid I would see pages and pages on Broadway and even then I couldn’t wait to live here. R: How did you get into the business? NS:
productive now. We are more technological savvy and we built a new studio in Lincoln control. When people give us money I want to ensure that they get the best resources on screen and cut out anything that gets in the serve the public. R: What are the challenges you have faced in fundraising different?
I was executive producer of Dateline Division and I was there for 13 years
R: NS: interview at WNET and they asked me what I think of the channel and I said I had always admired it but I said it’s a little like visiting older relatives, you go to the opera but then
R: what other shows have you brought in? NS: I changed movies to Saturday night, and I did promos which were great fun. We have done more independent movies and short movies locally made, we brought an art show called Sunday
between smart interviews and great stories because we think local news is a great angle. The more important issues like education, health care, poverty and infrastructure, aren’t covered on a very informational basis. We want to tap in to all the talent in New York.
nights a week and no other news show had done that. This experience for
a very busy time for me up until Hurricane Katrina.
if it’s on our air they know it’s good. Sesame Street has given a good childhood memory to PBS.
we will be sharing content with other stations. We hope to make a monthly
NS: It was an interesting time. Looking back, I think people would say I worked in the golden years of
back to the 20th anniversary celebration at Dateline and it was great! People said I was the best boss they ever had, and we were doing things then that people had never done before. Afterwards, I was promoted
NS: Well, there is a half not watching, but that means there is a half that does. There is
and then we moved it to primetime. We
R
News of the Day plus the long form
R: And how do they view it?
NS: I think radio is doing better at the is cheaper to do so you can do a lot more with it for the same amount of money, and the other advantage for a lot of people is that you get an audience at drive-time in the morning and evening. I think public media is great on both sides. Laura Walker, who runs worrying about content and raising money. I think when TV does things the experience is moment on TV but not so much on radio. Pictures and words together are a powerful combination. R: How do you keep in touch with New Yorkers?
the diversity of the city, and then they said that’s right!
NS: In one sense it’s impossible because it’s a gigantic market, but the ways you can are
R: you brought to the station?
form links with other parts of the community
NS: Well, when I got here I tried to bring my past experiences. Recession made us
Yorkers view public TV.
R: You have a program that helps high NS: The high school dropout crisis is one of the biggest crises in the nation, barely 50% of kids graduate! That number is astonishingly low and we need to raise awareness for that nation. New York is at the fulcrum for that, so we will do an informational telethon on Saturday, September 22nd. Every half hour, we will highlight different organizations that help to alleviate the dropout rates. People can donate money, or offer to be a volunteer chance to reach many, many people that they normally could not. R: Is there a new development for next year, a sneak peak? NS: Well we are celebrating our 50th next year so one thing we are doing is digging the best of ‘50s, ‘60s and so on. Every day we
Pioneers of THIRTEEN, The ‘60s – Experimental Days will air Monday, September 17, at 8 pm on THIRTEEN Resident