Media Executive, Documentary Filmmaker & Journalism Scholar
I've built a career at the intersection of documentary storytelling, journalism education and organizational leadership. I directed Al Primo & His Eyewitness News Revolution — honored at festivals in New York, Los Angeles and London, premiered by WABC-TV — and John Johnson Reporting, produced with ABC/Disney. Over twenty years I've led academic departments, launched new programs and industry partnerships, taught and advised thousands of students, and directed field and survey research for government, non-profit and media clients. I anchored and reported for Nexstar Media Group and Charter Spectrum before moving into film partnerships and sales at latakoo, Inc., where I also serve as Scholar-in-Residence.
Sales and film-partnership development connecting long-form productions to latakoo's video workflow platform; applied research on video technology in journalism, for a platform serving NBC Universal, Nexstar and Charter Spectrum.
Launched the department's first TV news studio and producer course, created the Journomentary faculty–student documentary program, and brokered the latakoo partnership and a $700,000 NEH grant proposal.
Contributed to an award-winning investigative series with Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Produced and reported The Future of Water in the West, a series on Colorado River basin water policy.
Featured coursework: scheduling and budgeting in Movie Magic; the studio green-light process and production-office setup; labor law, union/guild compliance and OSHA safety; on-set coordination — call sheets, one-line schedules, daily production reports; production accounting and payroll; post-production workflow and copyright clearance.
Author of 10 peer-reviewed academic books and 60+ journal articles on media, politics and religion, published by Columbia University Press, Temple University Press, Routledge, Rowman & Littlefield and others. Forthcoming: Politics Tonight (LSU Press); Police Reform in America (University of Michigan Press); Reporting US Politics: The Local TV Perspective (Routledge); a manuscript on religion and politics with Columbia University Press.
Principal or co-principal investigator on $135,000+ in external research grants since 2015, including two National Science Foundation awards, a HUD award and Scripps Howard Foundation support. Directed field and survey research for the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, the Cincinnati Black United Front, and the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati. Has served as an expert witness in federal district court.
Two decades of university teaching in TV news production, film editing, mass media, constitutional law, American and comparative politics, research methods and legislative politics — at the University of Cincinnati, Missouri State, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State LA, Chatham and Texas A&M, plus media production and reporting at Future University in Egypt (2017–2022).
Hosting gig, original content, or a research question worth answering properly — let's talk.
