| To: HPilot who wrote () | 7/13/1999 9:56:00 PM | | From: Stephen Pickering | | | |
How about this for a start:
HUGH DOWNS
Hugh Downs, host of ABC-TV's "20/20" and chair emeritus of the U.S.
Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF USA), is one of this country's most
recognized television personalities. The list of his accomplishments is
tremendous, as is the number of his admirers.
For many years, Mr. Downs has been a household name among millions of
television viewers, dating back to the time he was on "The Tonight Show" with
Jack Paar (1957-62). Mr. Downs has since hosted some of television's most
popular programs, including "Concentration," NBC's "Today" and PBS's "Over
Easy." For the latter, he won an Emmy Award in 1981.
Mr. Downs is listed by The Guinness Book of World Records as the
personality with the most hours on network TV. In 1986, Mr. Downs was
honored by the Museum of Broadcasting in New York City for his 40 years in
television. In 1990, he was presented with the Broadcaster of the Year Award
by the International Radio and Television Society for his many achievements
during his fifty years in radio and television.
As a reporter, Mr. Downs concentrates on issues relating to science, medicine,
children, adventure and aging, the fine arts, and family. He won his second
Emmy for a 1988 ABC News special on environmental hazards, and received
an award from the American Psychiatric Association for a 1991 program on
depression. A multifaceted individual, Mr. Downs is not only a skillful TV host,
author, sailor, explorer and aviator, but also a true humanitarian. His deep
commitment is unmistakable in the drive and dynamism with which he
discharged his duties as chair of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF from 1978
to 1998.
As its chair, Hugh Downs visited numerous UNICEF-assisted projects in
developing countries, including programs focusing on the control of diarrheal
disease in Bangladesh, nutrition projects in China, and income generation and
child care projects in Nepal. In 1992, Mr. Downs visited UNICEF-assisted
projects in Kenya, including camps for Somalian refugees.
In his support of UNICEF and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, Mr. Downs
speaks from personal experiences on such critical issues as oral rehydration
therapy -- a simple, lifesaving solution to replace the essential fluids lost from
the body while suffering from severe diarrhea. In 1984, Mr. Downs witnessed
the miracle of ORT in Bangladesh, when he saw a cholera-stricken child
revived within hours after being given the solution.
Mr. Downs was born in Akron, Ohio. He attended Bluffton (Ohio) College,
Wayne University (now Wayne State) and Columbia University. He holds a
post-Masters degree in gerontology from Hunter College of New York and a
certificate in Geriatric Medicine from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine of New
York.
Mr. Downs and his wife, Ruth, maintain homes in New York and Arizona.
They have two grown children, Hugh Raymond and Deirdre Lynn.
For further information, please contact UNICEF USA's Public Relations
Department at (212) 922-2550.
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| To: HPilot who wrote () | 7/13/1999 11:26:00 PM | | From: DennyKrane | | | |
Dow Jones Newswires -- July 13, 1999
Dow Jones Newswires
Hugh Downs To Develop Content For Ampex's iNexTv
Unit
NEW YORK -- Broadcast veteran Hugh Downs will develop programming for Ampex Corp.'s
(AXC) iNexTv Corp.'s Internet video affiliates.
In a press release Tuesday, Ampex said Downs is to begin work on a number of projects this fall.
iNexTv provides audio and visual content for the Internet. Ampex, Redwood City, Calif., provides
products for acquiring, storing and processing visual information.
-Consella A. Lee; 201-938-5400 |
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| To: Paul Berliner who wrote (4) | 7/14/1999 1:39:00 PM | | From: Michael Olds | | | |
Yahoo! News Technology Headlines
Wednesday July 14 12:20 PM ET
U.S. TV Anchor Hugh Downs To Join Internet TV Firm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Television personality Hugh Downs plans to join iNEXTV Corp., a newly formed Internet video network, to develop online television shows, making him the latest high-profile TV newsman to embrace the new medium.
Downs' move follows his recently announced plans to retire as co-anchor of ABC News' prime-time weekly television newsmagazine ''20/20,'' a move that caps a career in television journalism spanning 50 years, the company said late Tuesday.
In his previous jobs, Downs, 78, has hosted some of America's most popular TV programs, throughout virtually the medium's entire history.
Edward Bramson, chief executive of iNEXTV, said Tuesday Downs will be involved in iNEXTV's Executive Branch TV (http://www.exbtv.com), which will provide coverage of U.S. executive agency meetings and activities, including White House events, via the Internet -- akin to the C-SPAN channel's coverage of U.S. congressional and other political events on cable TV.
Downs also may contribute to the Air & Space channel on the company's ''TV on the Web'' site (http://www.tvontheweb.com), said Bramson, who is also chairman of Ampex, the media recording technology company, and parent of iNEXTV.
Downs ''had been looking for things to do on the Internet,'' Bramson said in a phone interview. ''There are a couple of new channels that we're starting up that he's going to help us with,'' he said.
Downs was not available for comment.
Television programming via the Internet remains in its infancy, but is gaining acceptance amid the growing convergence of computers and television, and as high-speed Internet connections become more widespread.
Last month, Lou Dobbs, president of CNNfn financial news and one of the best-known TV journalists in the United States, announced plans to leave his executive and on-camera posts at CNN to start his own Web site devoted to space issues.
His site is located at space.com.
Downs will begin working with iNEXTV immediately after his contract with ABC expires in October, Bramson said. He declined to disclose how Downs would be compensated, only that the TV legend was an ''equity participant'' in the project.
iNEXTV plans to produce Internet video programming in New York, Los Angeles, Reston, Va., Washington, D.C. and Munich, but that the flexibility of the Internet should allow Downs to work from almost anywhere.
Downs serves as chairman of the board of governors of the National Space Society and has served as a member of the NASA Advisory Council |
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