Dennis Swanson recognized for achievement in television broadcasting
U of I alumnus Dennis Swanson, president of station operations for FOX Television Stations Group, recently received two prestigious industry honors.
As part of its 25th anniversary issue (May 21, 2007), Television Week named Swanson one of the 25 legendary figures who have shaped the television industry. Fellow honorees include CNN founder Ted Turner, Children's Television Workshop founder Joan Ganz Cooney, former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Television Week cited Swanson's innovation at ABC in sports, daytime and children's programming, as well as his leadership of three network-owned TV station groups. His numerous career achievements include launching "The Oprah Winfrey Show" while general manager of ABC's WLS-TV in Chicago.
The College of Media graduate was also designated a Giant of Broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting. The award honors individuals who have made unparalleled contributions to the profession and who exemplify broadcasting's best qualities. Swanson is one of this year's eight honorees, who include Charlie Rose and Diane Sawyer. Among the 90 previous winners are Bill Cosby, Lucille Ball, Paul Harvey, Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters and Johnny Carson.
"Without question, Dennis deserves to be counted among these legendary leaders of television and broadcasting," said Richard Herman, Chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus. "He is determinedly focused on quality and always available to help his profession, including sharing valuable insights from his 40-year career with the next generation of broadcasters," Herman added.
Swanson, who earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1961 and a master's degree in radio and television in 1966 at Illinois, was named president of station operations for FOX Television Stations Group in October 2005 and manages 35 stations across the country.
Before joining FOX Television Stations Group, Swanson was executive vice president and chief operating officer, VIACOM Television Stations Group. He previously served as president and general manager of WNBC-TV in New York, and was president of ABC Sports from 1986-1996. He was also president of ABC Daytime and ABC Children's Programming from 1991-1993. Prior to joining ABC Sports, Swanson was the president of ABC-owned television stations from 1985-1986. He earlier served as vice president and general manager of WLS-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago where he gave Oprah Winfrey her first daytime talk show. Swanson began his career as an assignment editor and field producer for NBC News in Chicago, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
He and his wife of 45 years, Katherine, donated funds to the College of Media to create the Swanson Center within Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunication, which opened in September 1999. The Swansons' gift provided state-of-the-art audio and video equipment for the news studio, control room and videotape playback room.
Swanson also frequently returns to campus as a guest lecturer in the College of Media and was among a prominent group of journalists, artists, media executives, policy-makers and scholars who participated in a 2005 conference that addressed the issues of media consolidation and freedom of the press.