Honoring the Commitment of the Newhouse Family
When you walk through the front doors of the historic Newhouse 1 building, the first thing that catches your eye is the quote from Samuel I. Newhouse mounted on the wall lining the lobby staircase.
“A free press must be fortified with greater knowledge of the world, and skill in the arts of expression.”
That phrase stands the test of time, even if the forms, means and speed by which we communicate have evolved in the six decades since the opening of Newhouse 1.
At the Newhouse School today, the “arts of expression” taught by our world-class faculty cover nearly all fields in media and communications.
Our advertising and public relations programs consistently produce award-winning students. The Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries is among the best of its kind in the country.
The visual communications program carries on our successful track record of training talented photographers and graphic designers. Our television, radio and film program is considered among the top such programs each year by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
Our newest program, esports communications and management, is emblematic of our forward-thinking philosophy to expand offerings into emerging fields. And the Newhouse School is committed to taking a lead role in research and the national conversation about the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
But make no mistake—at our core, and what will never change, is our commitment to journalism and journalism education.
In this special edition of the Newhouse Network magazine, we share moments from our Aug. 28 events that kicked off the yearlong celebration of the Newhouse School’s 60th anniversary. It was such a special day to welcome the esteemed Donald Newhouse and his family back to Syracuse University!
You’ll see highlights of some of the anniversary photo galleries that adorn the school in this milestone year. And you’ll read about the ways we continue to evolve with the journalism industry to ensure our students are prepared to work and lead from Day 1 after graduation.
Donald’s father, S.I. Newhouse, set the foundation here 60 years ago. We are so grateful for his family’s enduring commitment to Syracuse University and the school that proudly bears the Newhouse name.
Mark J. Lodato
Dean
Donor Honor Roll
The Newhouse School gratefully acknowledges the alumni, parents, employees, organizations, students and friends who supported the school each year. The following list recognizes those who have contributed between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. We have respectfully removed those donors who asked to remain anonymous.
Newhouse Advisory Board
Barry Baker ’73
Senior Advisor, Lee Equity
Angela Bundrant ’89
Head of Brand and Business Development, Purple Strategies
Neil I. Canell
Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Securities
Deborah B. Curtis ’90
CMO, On Location Experiences
Brian A. Edelman ’03
CEO, RAIN
Andrea Fant-Hobbs ’82
Chief Brand Officer, Brand Strategy, Development and Innovation LLC
Shelly L. Fisher ’80
CEO, Pay it Forward Group LLC
Eric D. Frankel ’79
CEO, AdGreetz
Steven Fuchs ’79
CEO, True North
Nicholas B. Godfrey ’02
COO, RAIN
Kristina Hahn ’98
Director of Global Sell Side Strategy and Operations, Google
Deborah A. Henretta ’85
Partner and Vice Chairman, G100 Co.
Joyce Hergenhan ’63
Retired Vice President, Communications, General Electric
Peter A. Horvitz ’76
President, PAH Investments LLC
Beth Ann Kaminkow ’89
Global CEO, VMLY&R Commerce
Keith Kaplan ’91
Global CEO, Kinetic Worldwide
Lawrence S. Kramer ’72
Board of Directors, Advance Local
Senior Advisor, Advance
Michael Lehman
Partner/Attorney, Lehman & Lehman LLP
Rob Lewis ’84
Senior Director of Multi-Format Production, Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal
Christopher A. Licht ’93
Former Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide
Gary T. Lico ’76
Proprietor, GARYLICO.TV
Robert R. Light ’78
Head of Music Department, Partner and Managing Director, Creative Artists Agency
L. Camille Massey ’87
President and CEO, Synergos
Sandra Cordova Micek ’91
President and CEO, WTTW/WFMT
John Douglas Miller ’72
Retired Chair, NBCUniversal Marketing Council
Robert J. Miron ’59
Retired Chairman and CEO, Advance/Newhouse Communications
Eric Mower ’66, G’68
Chairman and CEO, Mower
Philip Nardone Jr. ’82
President and CEO, PAN Communications
Tonia O’Connor ’92
Independent Board Director
Michael S. Perlis ’76
President and CEO, Forbes Media
Bruce Perlmutter ’81
Content Strategy, Showrunner, Amazon
Melissa Richards-Person ’89
CMO & Vital Brand Builder, Third Arm Consulting
Angela Y. Robinson ’78
Director of Operations, National Association of Black Journalists
Doug Robinson ’85
President, Doug Robinson Productions
Gary C. Schanman ’92
Executive Vice President and Group President, Sling TV
Alyson Shontell ’08
Editor-in-Chief, Fortune
Seth Solomons ’91
CEO, Eastlake Advisory Group
Shari M. Stenzler ’92
Owner/Founder, London Misher Public Relations
Charles W. Stevens ’77
Principal, Global Writers Group
Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
John L. Sykes ’77
President, Entertainment Enterprises, iHeartMedia
Michael T. Tirico ’88
Sportscaster, NBC Sports
Luis C. Torres-Bohl ’82, G’85
President/Founder, Castalia Communications Corp.
Joyce Tudryn ’81
President and CEO, IRTS Foundation
David Watson
President and CEO, Comcast Corp.
James G. Weiss ’87
Chairman and CEO, Real Chemistry
Bryan Wiener ’92
CEO, Profitero
Melinda Witmer
Former Executive Vice President, Chief Video Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Time Warner Cable Networks
Howard E. Woolley ’80
President, Howard Woolley Group LLC
Dana Zimmer ’92
President of Distribution, Nexstar Media Group
Emeritus Members
Joan L. Adler G’76
Assistant Vice President of Regional Programs, Syracuse University Los Angeles
James C. Andrews G’93
Vice President, Licensing, Andrews McMeel Publishing
Roger W. Conner ’70
President and CEO, Conner Communications LLC
Shanti D. Das ’93
CEO and Founder, Silence the Shame
Founder, mibo LLC
William F. Doescher G’61
President and CEO, The Doescher Group Ltd.
Pamela Giddon Freedman ’73
Retired Owner, Giddon & Company PR Marketing
Andrew T. Heller
Retired Vice Chairman, Turner Broadcasting System
Steven D. Leeds G’73
Retired Vice President, Talent Relations and Industry Affairs, SiriusXM
Arthur S. Liu G’66
President and CEO, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting
Donald R. Lockett G’74
Principal, iD-Media Solutions
Sean McDonough ’84
Broadcaster, ESPN
David G. O’Neil ’84
Partner, Rini Coran PC
Andrea Davis Pinkney ’85
Vice President and Editor-at-Large, Scholastic Trade
Howard W. Polskin ’73
President, Polskin Media
Anthony F. Renda ’60
President, Renda Broadcasting Corp.
Stephen A. Rogers ’62
Retired Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Post-Standard
Walter Sabo ’74
Owner, Sabo Media
Marianne L. Samenko ’79
Retired Senior Director, Marketing, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Mark D. Sena ’76, G ’78
President, Mars Communications
Michael J. Terpin ’78
CEO and Owner, Transform Group
George P. Verschoor ’83
Producer/Director, Television and Film, Hoosick Falls Productions
Stephen J. Wilkes ’80
Photographer, Stephen Wilkes Photography
Honorary Member
Steven Newhouse
Chairman, Advance.net
Coming and going
The Newhouse School extends its deep gratitude to Jack Myers ’69 for completing 25 years of service to the Advisory Board and for his role as founder of the Newhouse 44 Board. Myers’ remarkable career in communications spanned decades, most recently as media ecologist and founder of MediaVillage. His many contributions of professional advice, volunteer time and financial support have had a tremendous impact on our students, alumni and deans.
And a warm welcome to our newest Advisory Board member, Alyson Shontell ’08, the editor-in-chief at Fortune. Shontell previously worked at Business Insider, where she was appointed editor-in-chief in 2016, becoming the youngest and only woman to run a global business publication. We look forward to her insight and contributions!
Class Notes
60s
Linda Mason ’65 wrote a memoir, “Speak Up: Breaking the Glass Ceiling at CBS News.”
70s
Joe Castiglione G’70 is the 2024 Ford C. Frick Recipient for Excellence in Baseball Broadcasting from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Howard Sholkin ’72 joined the board of directors of The Newton (Massachusetts) Beacon.
Jayson Stark ’73 was elected to the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame.
Bob Costas ’74 was a featured speaker in the Newhouse School’s Leaders in Communications series.
Mark A. Guttman G’75 retired after 45 years in television operations management at NBC, CBS and Sportsnet New York.
Gary Lico G’76 served as executive producer of the TV show “Forensic Files: A Special Tribute,” which won a Telly Award for Best True Crime Program.
Matthew Sieger G’76 is the author of “The God Squad: The Born-Again San Francisco Giants of 1978.”
Allen Adamson ’77 is the author of “Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, to Gain Market Advantage.”
Budd Bailey ’77 is the co-author of “The Buffalo Bills: An Illustrated Timeline of a Storied Team” and “Buffalo Braves From A to Z.”
Kathy Corbalis ’77 was awarded the 2023 D. Richard Petrizzo Award for Career Achievement from the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations.
Larry Pantages ’77 and Budd Bailey ’77 are the co-authors of “Game Day! Today in Cleveland Sports History.”
80s
Howard Woolley ’80 gave a financial gift to the Newhouse School to support students studying in Washington, D.C.
Tony Caridi ’84 was inducted into the WAER Hall of Fame.
Jay Francis ’84 was a featured speaker in the Newhouse School’s Leaders in Communications series.
Jim Weiss ’87 joined the board of directors of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
Dawn Aikman Dinnan ’88 purchased Watermark Office Services Inc.
Larry Hryb ’89 was a featured speaker in the Newhouse School’s Leaders in Communications series.
90s
Traci Geisler ’90 was appointed director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries.
Shanti Das ’93 launched a new podcast, “The Mibo Show,” which addresses health in hip-hop.
Eric Grode ’93 won a 2023 Syracuse University Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award.
Nicole Avery Nichols G’93 was named top editor of the Detroit Free Press.
Gregg Bernard ’94 is executive vice president of international strategy and business development for the Professional Fighters League.
Beth Uznis Johnson G’94 is the author of the novel “Coming Clean.”
Rani Raad ’97 was named president of RedBird IMI.
Robyn Munn Gengras G’98 was elected to the board of trustees of St. Lawrence University.
Kimberly Bissell Ph.D. ’99 was appointed dean of the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication.
Kyle Grimes ’99 was named vice president of New England for Hearst Television.
Jason Jedlinski ’99 was named CEO of WQED Multimedia in Pittsburgh.
Shana Novak ’99 is the author of “The Heirloomist: 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell.”
00s
Andrew Catalon ’01 was inducted into the WAER Hall of Fame.
Olivia Stomski ’01 served as executive producer for the TV show “Forensic Files: A Special Tribute,” which won a Telly Award for Best True Crime Program.
Emilie Harkin ’02 was appointed senior vice president of growth at The Guardian.
Jeff Passan ’02 was named 2023 National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
Dave Schwartz G’02 joined the Minnesota Wild as senior manager of communications and engagement.
Shannon Slatton Schwartz G’02 was named executive director of CCX Media in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Mark E. Johnson ’03, G’05 won the National Press Photographers Association Educator of the Year Award.
Jason Murray G’03 was named sports editor at The Washington Post.
Adam Ritchie ’03 owns Adam Ritchie Brand Direction, which was selected by American Ninja Warrior Adventure Parks to handle PR for its first U.S. location, in partnership with Universal Live Entertainment.
Eli Saslow ’04 won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for a series of stories in The Washington Post.
Erin Westerman ’04 was named to Variety’s “Power of Women in Hollywood 2023” list and gave the keynote address at the Newhouse School’s 2023 Convocation Ceremony.
Wesley Cheng ’05 is a site publisher at Yahoo Sports/Rivals.
Kacie Barton ’06 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video for her work as a producer on “In Your Love” by Tyler Childers.
Matt Blitz ’07 joined WAMU/DCist as the producer of WAMU’s weekly live local politics show, “The Politics Hour.”
10s
Rebecca Schmid G’10 is the author of “Weill, Blitzstein and Bernstein: A Study of Influence.”
Lorna Oppedisano ’12 is project manager for events and programs at the Onondaga Historical Association.
Travis Parman G’12 joined Philip Morris International as vice president and chief communications officer.
Kelundra Smith G’12 is managing editor at American Theatre Magazine.
Leah Stacy G’12 is editor-in-chief of Rochester City Magazine.
Allyssa Kaiser ’13 was named a “Leader to Watch in 2024” by CommerceNext and received a CommerceXcellence Award for her work as senior director of performance marketing at NEST New York.
Danny Connors ’14 was named general manager of the Rip City Remix basketball team.
Liz Sawyer ’14 was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.
Emily Bailey ’16 served as the colorist on the film “Perfectly Good Moment.”
Matt Kaufax ’17 joined WTOP News in Washington, D.C., as a features reporter.
Brian Yuran ’17 directed the short film “Guardian Angels.”
Aub Driver G’18 is the director of marketing at IDW Publishing.
Yerin Kim ’18 is the author of “I Love BTS.”
Jerald Pierce G’18 is Chicago editor at American Theatre Magazine.
20s
Conor Wight’s ’20 report on lead poisoning and youth violence for CNYCentral.com won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Hard News Reporting.
Jenna Fink ’21 is a sports anchor and reporter at KVOA in Tucson, Arizona.
Kamal Morgan G’21 joined the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram as the racial equity reporter.
Matthew Nerber G’21 joined Syracuse Stage as the marketing content and publications manager.
Jenna Webster ’21 is a weekend morning anchor at WQAD in Moline, Illinois.
Kate Brennan ’22 won third place in the Hearst Journalism Awards Multimedia Digital News/Enterprise category for her multimedia reporting project, “Aloha ‘āina.”
Kiana Papin ’22 received a Fulbright teaching assistantship to teach in France.
Steven Rodas G’22 received the 2023 Media Award from the New Jersey Clean Communities Council.
Quinn VanAntwerp G’22 joined the cast of the Tony Award-nominated musical “Shucked.”
John Eads ’23 is a sports anchor and reporter at WAFB in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Maya Pow ’23 joined People Magazine as an associate platforms producer.
Trey Redfield ’23 is a weekend sports anchor/multimedia journalist at NTV News in Kearney, Nebraska.
Tien Tran G’23 won a 2023 Clio Sports Gold Award for Best Student Film.
Anthony Vasquez ’23 joined KGET-17 in Bakersfield, California, as sports director.
In Memoriam
Edward Bleier ’51
Bleier, the pioneering media executive whose generosity supported the study of television and pop culture for generations of students that followed in his footsteps at Syracuse University, died Oct. 17. He was 94. The former president of Warner Bros.’ Domestic Pay-TV, Cable and Network Features division, Bleier worked in almost every aspect of radio and television. Fittingly, his name is memorialized at the Newhouse School through the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, which serves as a kind of think tank on the art of television and the exploration of pop culture.
Phil Quartararo ’77
Quartararo, the influential music executive who introduced U2 to the United States in the 1980s and developed the careers of artists such as Paula Abdul, Linkin Park and the Spice Girls, died Nov. 22. He was 67. Quartararo’s 46-year career included leadership positions with nearly every major record label. Just as important to Quartararo was his dedication to Syracuse University and the Newhouse School, and a commitment to developing future leaders of the music industry. He was one of a handful of executives who worked with Martin Bandier ’62 and the University to create the Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries.
Charles Reichblum ’48
Reichblum, the original “Voice of the Orange” and a co-founder of WAER-FM, died Oct. 30. He was 95. The sports director when WAER (then known as WJIV) officially launched in 1947 as the first low-power FM station in the country, Reichblum served as the radio play-by-play voice for Syracuse football and basketball games. Later in his career, Reichblum became known as Dr. Knowledge, a fitting tribute for someone who amassed one of the world’s largest collections of stories during 50-plus years in journalism. He broadcast the daily “Dr. Knowledge” feature nationwide on the CBS Radio Network, and hosted “The Dr. Knowledge Show” on KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh.
John Philip Jones
Jones, an emeritus professor, longtime Newhouse faculty member in the advertising department and influential voice in the field, died March 23. He was 93. Jones had an illustrious career in Europe, working for nearly 25 years at J. Walter Thompson in London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen before arriving at Newhouse in 1981. Jones brought a wealth of knowledge that would benefit the students that he went on to teach. In 2001, Jones received the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement. He was also a prolific author, writing about 18 books.
R. Gustav Niebuhr
Niebuhr, a leading writer and author about American religion who went on to teach about religion and media at the Newhouse School, died Oct. 20. Niebuhr, whose full name was Richard Gustav Niebuhr, changed the coverage of religion in the United States by reporting on stories that showed how people’s faiths contributed to shaping their political and civic activities and beliefs. An associate professor with a dual appointment at Newhouse and the College of Arts and Sciences, Niebuhr shared his unparalleled expertise and enthusiasm for writing and reporting with students while providing a patient and encouraging presence in the classroom.