Ben Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Early life and education
Ben Sherwood was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1981, he graduated from Harvard-Westlake SchoolHarvard-Westlake School
Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades 7 through 12....
(then called Harvard School) in Los Angeles. In 1986, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
with an AB degree. From 1986 to 1989, he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
Television journalism
From 1989 to 1993, Sherwood was an associate producer and producer for ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' Primetime
Primetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
(then called PrimeTime Live) with hosts Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
and Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
. During that time he was part of an ABC News team that came under sniper fire in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia in August 1992. David Kaplan, a veteran ABC News Washington producer, was killed in the incident.
In 1997, Sherwood joined NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
as a producer, then senior producer, and ultimately senior broadcast producer, where he was present during coverage of the September 11th attacks. Sherwood left NBC News in January 2002.
In April 2004, Sherwood was selected as executive producer of the ABC's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
On December 3, 2010, Sherwood was appointed president of ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
in New York, replacing David Westin
David Westin
David Westin is the President and CEO of the News Licensing Group and the former president of ABC News...
.
Writing
Sherwood’s non-fiction work has been published in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, Parade Magazine
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
, and O Magazine
O, The Oprah Magazine
O: The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Corporation.-Overview:...
.
In 1996, Sherwood wrote his first novel, Red Mercury, published under the pseudonym Max Barclay by Dove Books. The story involves a nuclear terror threat at the Summer Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Atlanta, Georgia. President Bill Clinton reportedly "devoured" the book before traveling to Atlanta to attend the Olympics.
In 2000, while working at NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
, Sherwood wrote a bestselling novel called The Man Who Ate The 747, published by Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
. The tragicomic tale tells the story of an investigator for a fictional Guinness Book of Records who travels to Superior, Nebraska to authenticate a record attempt involving a man eating a Boeing 747. The record keeper meets an introverted and misguided Nebraska farmer who is ingesting the 747 by grinding parts of the plane into gritty dust. By consuming the plane, the farmer hopes to prove the size and scope of his love for a woman who lives in the small town. The book is being developed as a feature film and musical.
In 2004, Sherwood published The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, which follows a young man's journey between the worlds of life and death, and explores his bonds with loved ones in both. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud was made into a major motion picture starring Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
, directed by Burr Steers
Burr Steers
Burr Gore Steers is an American actor, screenwriter and director.-Personal life:Steers was born in Washington, D.C. His father, Newton Ivan Steers, Jr. , was a Republican congressman from Maryland. His mother, Nina Gore Auchincloss , was the daughter of stockbroker and lawyer Hugh D...
, produced by Marc Platt
Marc Platt
Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC...
, and released from Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
on July 30, 2010 under the new title Charlie St. Cloud.. The film was a critical and box office failure, receiving only 27% positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
In January 2009, Sherwood's first non-fiction book, The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life, was published by Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. The Survivors Club explores human survival in all its forms. The book became a New York Times bestseller and has been published in more than 15 languages.
Internet entrepreneur
In January 2009, expanding upon the themes of his most recent book, Sherwood launched a Website called www.TheSurvivorsClub.org, an online resource center and support network for people facing all manners of adversity. The Survivors ClubThe Survivors Club
The Survivors Club is an American online resource center and social networking website that provides information and support for people confronting life-changing adversity. The site offers guides, tools and support circles for people facing medical, financial and family crises...
Website is a social enterprise dedicated to helping people survive and thrive in the face of every kind of adversity including health, financial, family and extreme challenges.
In August 2010, The Survivors Club Website re-launched as part of the Hearst Digital Network, a division of the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
.
Community activities
Sherwood is a member of the board of directors of City YearCity Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
(Los Angeles) and a member of the advisory board of the Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy and committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around...
in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
in New York.
Personal life
Sherood is married to Karen Kehela Sherwood, who is the co-chair of Imagine Films, a division of film and television production company Imagine EntertainmentImagine Entertainment
Imagine Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1986 by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer.Its productions include the television series 24 and Arrested Development and the films Apollo 13 , A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code .-Organization:Karen...
. They have two sons named William Richard Sherwood and Charles Edmund Sherwood.