CynCity

By Tracey McCormack TV ad sales veteran Tracey McCormack, the Founder and President of McCormack Media Services, specializes in training media professionals to succeed in a changing landscape. This fall, McCormack and Court Stroud, President of the Cledor Group, are co-teaching “Video Media Sales in a Cross-Platform World” at the NYU School of Professional Studies. […]

WE tv is making an impact as a highly social, pure-play reality network, focused on engaging and diverse personalities. Net president Marc Juris explains a brand expansion that’s paying off. Cynopsis: How has WE tv evolved? Marc Juris: Two years ago, we embarked on a major brand expansion, moving away from WE as “Women’s Entertainment” […]

UP has undergone a rebrand that transitioned the network from “family friendly” to “family focused.” With a new “We Get Family” tagline, UP acquired series like Gilmore Girls, Parenthood and America’s Funniest Home Videos to complement original programming including Bringing Up Bates, Growing Up McGhee and Jo Frost: Nanny on Tour. The result? Growth for […]

With the media landscape shifting seemingly by the day, start-up expert Lisa Messenger, author of “Daring & Disruptive,” offers six secrets for becoming a mover & shaker in a  multiplatform world.   When there’s so much disruption happening in an industry, how do you get people to choose you and your product? This is a […]

TD Jakes just premiered on OWN, right after its syndication launch.  Stephanie Drachkovitch, President & co-founder of 44 Blue Productions, explains how this show stands out from the pack (thanks, Oprah!). Cynopsis: How is TD Jakes different from other shows?   Stephanie Drachkovitch: The show is different because of TD Jakes himself – there is no […]

Time Inc. has just launched a new, free ad-supported Video-on-Demand OTT platform: the People/Entertainment Weekly Network. Network GM Susanne Mei talks about navigating from the “OTT future” to “OTT present.” Cynopsis: How long ago did the process start for the EW/People project? Susanne Mei: We built the programming and all the apps in nine months […]

When fall season rolls around, public television shows don’t usually get the buzz of their broadcast brethren, but there are jewels aplenty. Two standouts: PBS’ Time for School: 2003-2016 follows five kids in five countries for 12 years as they struggle for a basic education. The program airs as part of PBS’s “Spotlight Education Week” […]

Not long after the Commission on Presidential Debates released a list of the moderators for its upcoming events that didn’t include a Hispanic journalist, Univision President & CEO Randy Falco pressed Janet H. Brown, Executive director of the organization, to reconsider. Here is his letter in its entirety.   Dear Ms. Brown, I am writing […]

In advance of accepting his Content Leadership award at the 2016 !magination Awards on September 27, Christopher Keenan, Mattel Creations SVP, content development and executive producer, chatted with Cynopsis Kids editor Cathy Applefeld Olson about the evolution of Mattel Creations into a content-driven company developing properties to engage audiences through character and story.   […]

Mark Cronin knows a little something about reality shows. The co-founder of 51 Minds, now heading up a new venture, Little Wooden Boat Productions, has a slew of series to his credit. But while the creator of Bravo‘s Below Deck (launching season four on September 6) admits every show has its issues, shooting on a […]