Roger Goodman will receive the DGA's 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award in News Direction for distinguished achievement.
"We are privileged to recognize Roger Goodman with the Lifetime Achievement Award for news direction," said DGA President Taylor Hackford in announcing the award. "He is a man whose singular influence on modern news broadcasts has shaped the coverage of every significant event over the past 40 years."
Goodman's career spans four decades in news, sports and entertainment - directing, creating and producing live events on and off the air as vice president of special projects for ABC.
Goodman began his career at WKRB-TV in Chicago in 1964. A year later, he heard there was an opening for a production assistant at a new program called Wide World of Sports in New York. By 1968 he was named associate director for ABC Sports, and in 1976 was promoted to director of production development, ABC News and Sports. In 1988, he became director of production and design, ABC News, and in 1996 was named executive director, special projects, ABC Television. But in 1968 he made the move into a job that he seemed predestined to do, directing network news and sports.
"When I started my career in the mid '60s I never knew I would see black and white television change to color and then to HD. I saw the advent of cable and satellites and, like Wide World of Sports; I too, spanned the globe to capture images live or on tape for sports, news and entertainment," he commented.
Starting in 1981, Goodman went on to develop and execute the creative design and direction of ABC's political coverage of all presidential conventions, debates, elections and inaugurations. Other projects included directing the Peabody Award-winning coverage of the September 11th attacks, which broadcasted live for more than 91 hours, making it the longest consecutive news report in ABC history, as well as the one-year anniversary of 9/11. He was also the co-executive producer and director of ABC's coverage of the Millennium, directing for more than 24 consecutive hours using more than 400 cameras, 32 satellites, four control rooms and a staff of 1,000 technicians to put on a broadcast viewed by 175 million people.
Goodman knows he's been a witness to history. "From my seat, I've not only been incredibly fortunate to bear witness to some of the biggest, most pivotal and most emotional moments in our world's history, I've been privileged to have been a part of bringing those stories to millions of people - everything from the joyous wedding of a princess to the heartbreak of a Papal funeral; from the historic elections, conventions and inaugurations of 5 presidents to the first live coverage of a South African President meeting a black Nobel Peace Prize recipient; space shuttle's first flight and first disaster; and live tours from the Kremlin, the White House, the Vatican, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to what was clearly the most emotional day of my directorial career, covering the events and the aftermath of September 11th."
He also designed and directed 20/20, Primetime Live, Nightline, This Week, Good Morning America and World News as well as coverage of the war in Iraq, funeral coverage of Pope John Paul II, President Reagan and President Ford; and many other special broadcasts.
In February 2009, Goodman directed the 81st Annual Academy Awards telecast. He also directed the Daytime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Emmys and Oscar countdown shows and many other entertainment specials throughout the years. For ABC Sports, Goodman was the director and/or coordinating director for 10 Olympic Games, four Super Bowl halftime shows, college football, Wide World of Sports, NCAA college football, the Preakness Stakes, the New York Marathon and the Indianapolis 500, for which he won a DGA Award in 1998.
Goodman was also instrumental in a number of technological advances and industry firsts ranging from the invention of the over-the-shoulder Quantel box to the first successful transmissions of live programming from a nuclear submarine. He was also responsible for directing the development of ABC's efforts in interactive, enhanced television, virtual-reality production sets and other integrated new media projects. "I've always thrived on the challenge of doing what had never been done before," he noted. "Like bringing together two capitals thousands of miles apart, answering questions in two languages live in a Senate Chamber in Washington and the Main Hall of the Kremlin."
In addition to his DGA Award, Goodman has received 28 Emmy Awards and another 61 nominations, three Christopher Awards, three Peabody Awards and two Edward R. Murrow Awards among many other honors.
Earlier this year, Goodman stepped down from day-to-day directing at ABC to expand his production company, RG Productions, to work with media clients in all fields on program production and development. Looking back over all he's accomplished he said, "It's been an incredible journey so far and I've been fortunate to work with so many talented individuals. Looking back, I never could have imagined directing the Millennium, the Olympics and the Oscars. Looking forward I'm excited about the challenges that lie ahead."
