Danny Schechter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Danny Schechter
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Schechter in 2009
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| Born | June 27, 1942 New York City, US
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| Died | March 19, 2015 (aged 72) New York City, US
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| Alma mater | Cornell University (B.A.) London School of Economics (M.A.) |
| Occupation | television producer, filmmaker, media critic, author, professor |
| Organization | African National Congress, Artists United Against Apartheid |
| Movement | Northern Student Movement, anti-apartheid |
| Children | Sarah Schechter |
| Awards | see awards and honors |
Daniel Isaac "Danny" Schechter (born June 27, 1942 – died March 19, 2015) was an American television producer, independent filmmaker, and writer. He was also known as a media critic. He wrote and spoke about many important topics. These included apartheid (a system of racial segregation), civil rights, and how news is reported.
While studying in London in the 1960s, Schechter became an activist against apartheid. He traveled to South Africa to help the African National Congress (ANC). Later, he helped musician Steven Van Zandt create Artists United Against Apartheid. This group of performers released the album Sun City in 1985. Schechter also made six films about Nelson Mandela. These films covered Mandela's time as a political prisoner and his election as President of South Africa.
Schechter's first media job was at WBCN radio in Boston in the 1970s. There, he earned the nickname "Danny Schechter, the news dissector." This name stayed with him throughout his life. He later worked for ABC and the new cable television station CNN. Eventually, he left big media companies. He then started Globalvision, a TV and film company, with his friend Rory O'Connor. Globalvision produced South Africa Now, a TV show about the anti-apartheid struggle. He wrote more than 14 books.
Contents
About Danny Schechter
Early Life and Education
Danny Schechter was born in New York City in 1942. His mother, Ruth Lisa Schechter, was a secretary and a poet. His father, Jerry Schechter, made patterns for clothes and was a sculptor. Danny grew up in The Bronx in a special housing community. His grandparents were Russian-Jewish immigrants who believed in socialist ideas.
He went to DeWitt Clinton High School. In 1964, he graduated from Cornell University. While there, he wrote for the student newspaper, Cornell Daily Sun. He later earned a master's degree from the London School of Economics. He also received an honorary doctorate from Fitchburg State University.
During his time in London, Schechter joined an American group that was against the Vietnam War. He met Ruth First and other activists who fought against apartheid. He joined the African National Congress (ANC). He was part of a group called "London Recruits." Their job was to secretly enter South Africa and pass messages between ANC members. While in South Africa, Schechter attended the funeral of Albert Lutuli, a former ANC president.
Schechter also worked for civil rights. He was the communications director for the Northern Student Movement. He helped organize communities as part of a program to fight poverty. In 1966, he worked as an assistant to the Mayor of Detroit.
He was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University in 1969, where he also taught. He was also a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.
Media Career and "News Dissector"
Danny Schechter's career in media began at Boston radio station WBCN-FM. He started his show by saying, "This is Danny Schechter, your news dissector." This nickname came by accident when a colleague introduced him as "the news inspector, the news digester, the news dissector." Schechter liked "news dissector" and kept it. He eventually became the news director for WBCN-FM.
For Schechter, "dissecting the news" meant more than just reporting facts. He would explain the background of a story. Then, he would point out how other media outlets might have failed to report it accurately. He called himself "a participatory journalist," meaning he was involved in the movements he covered. In June 1973, he interviewed John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Schechter joined the first team at CNN as a producer. Later, he became a producer for the ABC news show 20/20. He was responsible for 50 segments of the program. He won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for two others. One nomination was for a 1983 investigation about President Reagan's plans for nuclear war.
Schechter helped musician Steven Van Zandt and music producer Arthur Baker. They created Artists United Against Apartheid. This group of musicians released a protest album called Sun City in 1985. The album was a protest against apartheid in South Africa.
After working for big media companies, Schechter decided to start his own company. He founded Globalvision, a TV and film production company in New York City, with Rory O'Connor. There, Schechter created and produced the TV series South Africa Now. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) did not want to show the program because it openly supported the anti-apartheid movement. However, Globalvision found a way around this. They went directly to individual public television stations. The show was then broadcast in over 150 different areas. The crew for South Africa Now was banned from South Africa itself, which made making the show harder.
Schechter and O'Connor later worked together on Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television. This show aired on American public television and in over 60 countries from 1992 to 1996. Schechter received the Society of Professional Journalists' 2001 Award for Excellence in Documentary Journalism. His film WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception won an award at the Austin Film Festival in 2004.
From 1999 to 2010, Schechter was the executive editor and "blogger-in-chief" for MediaChannel.org. He wrote a long daily blog about media and society. Schechter was known for criticizing large media companies. He also had strong opinions about PBS, which rejected several of his ideas for documentaries. In 2002, he wrote that PBS seemed to play it safe and was not very accountable to the public.
Danny Schechter passed away from pancreatic cancer on March 19, 2015, in New York City.
Awards and Honors
Danny Schechter received several awards and honors for his work:
- 2001 Award for Excellence in Documentary Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists (for Falun Gong's Challenge to China)
- 2004 Austin Film Festival Documentary Film Award (for WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception)
- 2008 James Aronson Award for Blogging
- Honorary doctorate from Fitchburg State University
- Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard University
- Two Emmy Awards, with four nominations
Key Productions
Films and Television Shows
Schechter produced and directed many important TV specials and documentary films. Here are some notable examples:
- Beyond A Long Walk To Freedom (2014) - About Nelson Mandela.
- Plunder: The Crime Of Our Time (2010) - About economic issues.
- WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception (2004) - About media coverage of the Iraq War.
- Counting on Democracy (2004) - About the 2000 Florida election recount.
- Nkosi: A Voice of Africa's AIDS Orphans (2001) - Narrated by Danny Glover.
- Falun Gong's Challenge to China (2001)
- Prisoners of Hope: Reunion on Robben Island (1995) - Co-directed by Barbara Kopple.
- Countdown to Freedom: Ten Days that Changed South Africa (1994) - Narrated by James Earl Jones and Alfre Woodard.
- Nelson Mandela: Free at Last (1991) - Broadcast nationally on PBS.
- The Making of Sun City (1987) - About the protest album.
Books Written by Schechter
Danny Schechter also wrote many books, often focusing on media, politics, and social issues:
- Surveillance A to Z (2015)
- When South Africa Called, We Answered: How the Media and International Solidarity Helped Topple Apartheid (2015)
- Madiba A to Z: The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela (2013)
- Occupy: Dissecting Occupy Wall Street (2012)
- The Crime Of Our Time: Why Wall Street is Not Too Big To Jail (2010)
- When News Lies (2006)
- The Death of Media (and the Fight to Save Democracy) (2005)
- Embedded: Weapons of Mass Deception: How the Media Failed to Cover the Iraq War (2003)
- News Dissector: Passions, Pieces and Polemics (2001)
- The More You Watch, The Less You Know (1997)
