On September 27, DGA members gathered in the Guild’s New York Boardroom for a panel discussion on how DGA members in the control rooms of network news make the split-second decisions that help to keep the public informed of the breaking events of the day. Hosted by the Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee, Live from the Control Room: News Directors in Conversation featured an exploration of the subject with Directors Ann Benjamin (Amanpour & Company), Nora Gerard (CBS Sunday Morning), Randi Clarke Lennon (CBS This Morning), Lily Olszewski (ABC’s Good Morning America); and Associate Director Judith Farinet (NBC News), all veterans with years of experience in broadcast news.
In a conversation moderated by Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee member, Director Sarah Carlson Brooke (NBC’s Meet the Press), and illustrated by clips from their various news broadcasts, the panel discussed the how they broke into the news game, the challenges of directing network news, and gave advice to new members looking to break into that part of the industry.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
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 Director Ann Benjamin
Benjamin is an Emmy award winning Director with 33 years of experience directing live and studio television. She spent 33 years at ABC News where over time she directed World News, 20/20 and Nightline and was on location for many special events. She is currently a Director at WNET where she directs Metrofocus, Treasures of New York, Amanpour & Company and Firing Line with Margaret Hoover. Benjamin has been a DGA member since 1975.
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 Director Sarah Carlson Brooke (moderator)
Brooke is the Director of the longest-running television show in American history, NBC’s Meet the Press, where she leads all aspects of the broadcast’s production, including the crew, design, and technical operations. She also serves as a staff Director at NBC, where she directs network news pool events. Brooke previously worked for Fox News Channel, where she directed multiple programs, including The Glenn Beck Program and The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. She has been a DGA member since 2005 and is a member of the Eastern Directors Council Focus on Women Committee.
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 Associate Director Judith Farinet
Farinet got into news as a Unit Managers secretary on NBC's The Huntley-Brinkley Report. After falling in love with live production, she began working as a PA then as an AD, where she has worked on a range of programs from political conventions, to live musical productions. She has also directed the NBC Nightly News weekend editions, Dateline and breaking news specials. Farinet joined the Guild in 1973 and has served on the Network Negotiations Committee for the last three contracts. She has also served on the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council since 2012.
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 Director Nora Gerard
Gerard has worked at CBS in various positions since moving to NY after college to work on the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Cotton Bowl Parade. After working as an Associate Director in the news division on show such as the CBS Morning News with Bill Kurtis and Diane Sawyer, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CBS Evening News Weekend Edition, CBS Sunday Night News and 48 Hours, Gerard was given the opportunity to direct Verdict with Connie Chung and Street Stories with Ed Bradley. She has been directing CBS Sunday Morning since 2011. A DGA member since 1981, Gerard has served two terms as an alternate on the Eastern Directors Council.
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 Director Randi Clarke Lennon
Lennon is the Director of CBS This Morning, a show she launched in 2012 and earned her a Daytime Emmy in 2016 for “Outstanding Directing in a Talk Show, Entertainment News or Morning Show.” Lennon also directs breaking news special reports as well as special events such as the Inauguration for CBS News. Lennon started her career in 2001 and has worked at almost every network as a Production Associate or Associate Director and served as a Director on The Early Show on CBS. Lennon has been a DGA member since 2005.
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 Director Liliana Olszewski
A DGA member since 2015, Olszewski is an Emmy-award winning Director of ABC’s Good Morning America, where she has been for 10 years. She broke into the industry as an Associate Director at Spanish language TV station KVEA, where she received her first directing opportunity. After working as a Technical Director/Director at the Univision network in Miami she moved to Telemundo as a full time Director. Her other credits include Late Night with Seth Meyers, Watch What Happens Live, Anderson, Today, Donahue, The Jenny McCarthy Show, Latin Billboard Awards Red Carpet, Premios Fox, Time and Again with Jane Pauley, Quite Frankly with Steven A. Smith, MTV’s The Seven and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
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About the Committee:
The Eastern Directors Council’s Focus on Women Committee members are Directors Laura Belsey, Sarah Carlson Brooke, Jan Eliasberg, Maggie Greenwald, Nicole Kassell, Annetta Marion, Martha Mitchell, Sarah Pirozek, Lara Shapiro, Shari Springer-Berman and Vivien Vitolo.
The Committee would like to remind members that while their events are designed with a special focus on women directors, all DGA members are welcome to attend.
