STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 14, 2006—Marcy McGinnis, an award-winning former senior news executive at CBS and one of the most respected broadcast journalists in the nation, has been named Interim Director of the Broadcast Journalism program at Stony Brook University’s new School of Journalism. The announcement was made today by University President Shirley Strum Kenny and Howard Schneider, Dean of the School of Journalism.
Marcy McGinnis
“Marcy McGinnis is an extraordinary journalist and is exactly the right person to develop the new Broadcast Journalism program,” Kenny said. “Our journalism students will benefit greatly from her experience, her knowledge, and her commitment to good journalism.”
“We’ve asked Marcy to take her 35 years of invaluable TV news experience and start from scratch to build a program that will be relevant for the next 35 years,” Schneider said. “Our students will learn from a news executive who has managed network coverage of every major news story from the death of Princess Diana to the war in Iraq.”
McGinnis was Senior Vice President, News Coverage, at CBS News from June, 2001 through December, 2005 and Vice President, News Coverage from 1997-2001. She managed all of CBS News’ worldwide newsgathering and hard news coverage— including breaking news and crisis coverage—as well as all hard-news broadcasts, and the operation and staffing of all domestic and overseas bureaus. McGinnis was at the helm of the newsgathering operation during coverage of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Hurricane Katrina, and was one of the primary architects of CBS News’ award-winning coverage of the war in Iraq.
“It’s very exciting to be part of Stony Brook University’s new School of Journalism,” McGinnis said. “I am looking forward to helping to create a Broadcast Journalism program that will be innovative, ambitious, and comprehensive, and one that will help turn out graduates armed with the skills and passions to succeed in a rapidly changing news environment.”
Stony Brook University announced in June the establishment of its School of Journalism, New York State’s first undergraduate School of Journalism at a public university. The School, which began offering a Bachelor’s degree program this fall, offers one of the nation’s first courses in News Literacy, designed to help students use their critical thinking skills to judge the credibility and reliability of the news from print, broadcast, and Internet sources. Schneider, former Editor of Newsday, was named Dean of the School of Journalism earlier this year.
McGinnis will work with Schneider in recruiting faculty, developing a broadcast curriculum, and building a planned “newsroom of the future” on campus. Broadcast courses will be offered beginning this spring. She is the first in a series of expected appointments of nationally-known journalists to faculty positions.
Prior to her appointment as Senior Vice President, she was Vice President, Europe, and London Bureau Chief for CBS News (1995-97), running the day-to-day newsgathering of the CBS News London bureau and the division's news coverage in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. She received three Emmy Awards for coverage of the death of Princess Diana in 1997. She was Deputy London Bureau Chief and Director of Newspath, Europe from 1992-1995. While in Europe she formed and managed CBS News' cooperative service of international news broadcasters.
Before her London assignment, McGinnis held a variety of positions with CBS News including executive producer (1989-92), senior producer (1986-92), producer (1983-86) and associate producer (1977-83).
McGinnis is a native of Allenhurst, N.J. She was graduated with honors from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia and holds honorary doctorates from her alma mater and from Hofstra University’s School of Communication. She serves on the boards of the International Center for Journalists, Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communications, the Overseas Press Club, and Women’s eNews. She is also in an advisory role with the International Women in Media Foundation. She lives in New York.
