Dick Cook Elected As KCETLink's Chairman of the Board
BURBANK, CA-August 5, 2013-KCETLink announced today that Richard (Dick)
Cook was elected as Chairman of the KCETLink Board of Directors for Fiscal
2014, effective immediately. Mr. Cook has served on the KCETLink Board since
January 2010 as a Vice Chair.
Mr. Cook, a highly respected entertainment industry executive and
motion picture producer, previously served as chairman for The Walt
Disney Studios.
"I am pleased that Dick will be leading the Board as we redefine public
media for new audiences and celebrate our 50 year legacy in Southern
California. Dick's passion for public media and his legacy at Disney will be of
great value as we work to create our new branding and programming strategies
for KCETLink," said Al Jerome, Chief Executive Officer of KCETLink. "I am very
grateful for the leadership of our outgoing Board Chair, Channing Johnson, in
particular for his prodigious involvement with the KCET-Link TV merger. We are
pleased that Channing continues to serve on the Board."
"KCETLink has a very important voice in public media right now and we have
a rare opportunity to seize the moment and accomplish something great
together," Mr. Cook said. "I am excited to be a part of building upon our
tremendous potential and help shape a more meaningful future for public
broadcasting that can impact the next generation of viewers."
KCETLink is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation, and is governed by an
unpaid board of directors representing a cross-section of business and
community leaders.
Additional KCETLink officers include: Don Buder as Vice Chair; Gordon Bava
as Secretary; David J. Zuercher as Treasurer; Al Jerome as Chief Executive
Officer; and June M. Baldwin as Assistant Secretary.
The KCETLink Board of Directors also includes: John Agoglia, Linda Brown,
Danny Glover, Pierre Habis, Channing Johnson, David G. Johnson, William Kobin,
Robert Ottenhoff, Rachel Payne, James Rothenberg, John Sotoodeh, Judy Tam and
Richard L. Zaldivar.
About KCETLink
KCETLink, formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media, is a national
independent, nonprofit, digital and broadcast network that provides
high-quality, culturally diverse programming designed to engage the public in
innovative, entertaining and transformative ways. With a commitment to
independent perspectives, smart global entertainment, local communities, and
opportunities for engagement and social action, KCETLink depicts people
and the world through a lens unavailable elsewhere in U.S. media. A
viewer-supported 501(c)(3) organization, KCETLink content is distributed
via satellite on DirecTV 375 and DISH Network 9410, in Southern and Central
California via broadcast, as well as through various digital delivery systems. KCET
and Link TV are services of KCETLink. For additional information about
KCET and Link TV productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and
community events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.
About Dick Cook
Richard (Dick) Cook, a highly respected entertainment industry
executive and former chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, has
overseen some of the industry's most successful global releases including The
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the Toy Story trilogy,Alice
in Wonderland
, Finding Nemo and numerous others. Under his leadership,the Studio became a worldwide box office leader for more than a
decade. A 38-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, Cook rose through the
ranks from a ride operator (Steam Train & Monorail) at Disneyland in 1970
to become Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. He has been at the forefront of
a variety of groundbreaking initiatives that would forever change the motion
picture industry. Most recently, Mr. Cook served as executive producer on
the motion picture "42," which told the life story of famed
baseball player Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing
with the Brooklyn Dodgers. "42" opened to $27. 3 million at the
US box-office and scored the largest debut for a baseball film on record.