Arick Wierson
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Arick Wierson (born: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1971) is an American-born television and media executive living in the United States. Wierson works for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and he is responsible for managing the media and entertainment assets for the City of New York, collectively known as NYC Media Group. [1] He is the General Manager of NYC TV and the President and CEO of NYC Media Group and its related companies which include WNYE-TV and WNYE-FM, NYC TV Original Productions, and Skyscraper Syndication, among others. Wierson is also a Deputy Commissioner in the City of New York in the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT). Wierson has led NYC TV to record 116 Emmy nominations[2] and 33 Emmys awards. He has been nominated on 21 different occasions for the role of Executive Producer in the creation of NYCTV's various programs. In 2007, Wierson won two New York Emmy awards for his role as Executive Producer of "Secrets of New York," along with producers/writers, Harry Hunkele and Bubbo Kakati. In 2008 Wierson captured two additional Emmys for his work on the "Secrets of New York DVD" (as Executive Producer) and for Feature Program (as Writer) for an episode of Blueprint - NYC which he executive-produced.
Wierson, along with co-founder Seth Unger, launched NYC TV in 2003. [3] The network has been recognized as an innovator and pioneer in both local and public broadcasting across the United States and internationally.
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[edit] Early years
Wierson grew up in Excelsior, Minnesota and attended part of his high school years in Hod Hasharon, Israel. Wierson graduated cum laude from Georgetown University in 1994 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Foreign Service. He holds a Master's Degree in Economics from the State University of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where he studied as an international Post-graduate Rotary Scholar. He wrote his Master's dissertation on the deregulation of the Brazilian cellular industry in 1997 [4] While in Brazil, he worked as a male model, working for John Casablancas and Elite Model Management, appearing in the local editions of Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire and GQ as well as television commercials for Gatorade, Colgate, Gilette, and other consumer products.
[edit] Career
Wierson has worked in a variety of sectors including banking, technology, entertainment, media and politics. Wierson has worked for several financial institutions including the World Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, and JP Morgan, as well as for an array of international politicians including former Brazilian Finance Minister Rubens Ricupero, former Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro and his current boss, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In early 2001, he was brought on as an aide in the mayoral campaign of Michael Bloomberg.[5] He is known to be close to political strategist Bill Hillsman, who invited Wierson to lecture at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
[edit] NYC TV
Under Wierson, NYC TV has expanded from a local cable operation to a broad array of broadcast, cable, production, online video and syndication entities, organized under the name of NYC Media Group. [6] Since becoming General Manager of NYC TV, WIerson has led the network to 33 Emmy Awards and 44 National Telly Awards. In addition to Secrets of New York, Wierson has participated in many of the network's original series' productions including $9.99, Eat Out NY, New York 360*, and The Bridge. In 2008, Wierson led NYC TV's digital media group to its first-ever Webby nominations.
[edit] Controversies and Criticisms
Wierson has been known to be a vocal critic of the PBS system. Upon taking over the WNYE channel in 2005, Wierson quickly disbanded the station’s long-held PBS status so he could promote the NYC TV content that he was bringing over from the network’s cable operations. Wierson has sparred with New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer over the years as she has consistently criticized NYC TV for being “too flashy” and focused on fashion and other topics she feels are given ample coverage by competing channels. [7] Wierson has countered in Council testimony that “television is meant to be watched.” [8]
Wierson, who teaches an MBA course on the media and television business at Metropolitan College of New York (formerly known as Audrey Cohen College), has often focused his lectures on why the PBS system is broken and has asked his students to debate what will eventually replace the system.
To many public broadcasters on the receiving end of Wierson’s criticisms, many believe that Wierson’s vision of the future of public broadcasting is to destroy it – replacing it with a demographically-focused, highly commercial system that could compete directly with major broadcasters. He has often advocated an “upfront” (where shows are pre-sold in the television industry) for PBS programs. He has been equally critical of the public radio system, although his close relationships with both NPR president Kevin Klose and (former) CEO Ken Stern as well as WNYC radio CEO Laura Walker have been seen by many as the chief reason why Wierson has been less active in overhauling the radio operations of NYC Media Group. Although Wierson has attracted some admirers within public broadcasting, they are mainly from the larger public broadcasters such as WETA in Washington, DC, WNET in New York City, and Minnesota Public Radio in Minneapolis.
[edit] Personal Life
Wierson is married to Fabiana Mesquita-Wierson, an executive at Bloomberg, LP. They have one daughter.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Thanks to the media-mogul-turned-mayor, New York City is a bigger star than ever. Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
- ^ Press Release from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Office of the Mayor, New York City. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
- ^ Young Guns Running the City's TV Network. Downtown Express. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Lista de Teses. UNICAMP. Retrieved on 2004-02-21.
- ^ New From City Hall, TV Worth Watching. New York Times. Retrieved on 2003-09-18.
- ^ MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES MERGER OF WNYE-TV AND WNYE-FM WITH NYC TV. Mayor's Office, City of New York. Retrieved on 2005-01-30.
- ^ Municipal Television – A Clash Of Vision. Gotham Gazette. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
- ^ Brewer Critical Of NYC-TV's Coverage. NY Sun. Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
