Chris Vlasto
Encyclopedia
Chris J. Vlasto is a senior producer at ABC News
20/20 and senior producer of the Law and Justice unit. Before that he was a senior Broadcast Producer of Good Morning America where he won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program. He is the son of James Vlasto, former Press Secretary to the New York Governor
Hugh Carey
and his half brother, Josh Vlasto is currently the Deputy Communications Director to Governor Andrew Cuomo
.
in 1984 and received his undergraduate degree from University of Southern California
in 1988. He resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Deirdre Michalopoulos, and their two sons: Nicholas and Alexander. Vlasto is the grandson of the late Solon G. Vlasto, publisher of the Atlantis
, once the most successsful Greek language daily newspaper published in the United States. Atlantis was founded by Solon G. Vlasto's uncle, Solon J. Vlasto in 1894. Solon J. Vlasto was also the founder and president of the first Greek Orthodox Church
, The Holy Trinity
, in New York City in 1892.
. Vlasto also produced the Diane Sawyer
interview with Ken Starr and the Barbara Walters
interview with Monica Lewinsky which was one of the most watched news interviews in television history.
Vlasto also covered the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center
, the Florida Recount, the Lewinsky scandal
, Oklahoma City bombing
, and the OJ Simpson Trial
.
Jim McDougal
, the real estate speculator whose mismanagement of the Whitewater land deal with his partners Bill Clinton
and Hillary Rodham Clinton
led to the Whitewater controversy
of the 1990s, says of Vlasto in the book Arkansas Mischief by Boston Globe writer, Curtis Wilkie:
In 2002, Details Magazine named Vlasto one of the 50 most powerful people in the United States under 37. Diane Sawyer said, "He is of the tradition of journalists you don’t see any more. He has got a craggy integrity."
Recently, Vlasto produced the first interview with one of the women Anthony Weiner was sexting with, Meagan Broussard, together with ABC News
20/20 anchor Chris Cuomo.
and the Joan Barone Award for his coverage of President Clinton.
He also won an Emmy Award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award for his coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks.
He was a 2003 Gerald Loeb Award winner.
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
20/20 and senior producer of the Law and Justice unit. Before that he was a senior Broadcast Producer of Good Morning America where he won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program. He is the son of James Vlasto, former Press Secretary to the New York Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Hugh Carey
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey was an American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative .- Early life :...
and his half brother, Josh Vlasto is currently the Deputy Communications Director to Governor Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
.
Early life
Chris Vlasto was born in Manhattan, New York. He graduated from Choate Rosemary HallChoate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
in 1984 and received his undergraduate degree from University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1988. He resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Deirdre Michalopoulos, and their two sons: Nicholas and Alexander. Vlasto is the grandson of the late Solon G. Vlasto, publisher of the Atlantis
Atlantis (newspaper)
The Atlantis was the first successful Greek language daily newspaper published in the United States. The newspaper was founded in 1894 by Solon J. and Demetrius J. Vlasto, descendants of the Greek noble family, Vlasto. The paper was headed by a member of the Vlasto family until it closed in 1973. ...
, once the most successsful Greek language daily newspaper published in the United States. Atlantis was founded by Solon G. Vlasto's uncle, Solon J. Vlasto in 1894. Solon J. Vlasto was also the founder and president of the first Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, The Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Church of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Demetrios of America.-About the Archdiocese:...
, in New York City in 1892.
Career
On January 21, 1998, Vlasto produced the reports by correspondent Jackie Judd which first broadcast the allegations about President Clinton's association with former White House intern Monica LewinskyMonica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
. Vlasto also produced the 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 ....
interview with Ken Starr and the Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
interview with Monica Lewinsky which was one of the most watched news interviews in television history.
Vlasto also covered the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, the Florida Recount, the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
, Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, and the OJ Simpson Trial
OJ Simpson trial
OJ Simpson trial may refer to:* O. J. Simpson murder case, Simpson's 1995 criminal trial for murder** O. J. Simpson murder case#Civil trial, the civil trial against Simpson for wrongful death, stemming from the murder case...
.
Jim McDougal
Jim McDougal
James B. "Jim" McDougal , a native of White County, Arkansas, and his wife, Susan McDougal , were financial partners with Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in the real estate venture that led to the Whitewater political scandal of the 1990s...
, the real estate speculator whose mismanagement of the Whitewater land deal with his partners Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
led to the Whitewater controversy
Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy was an American politics controversy that began with the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture in the 1970s and 1980s.A New York...
of the 1990s, says of Vlasto in the book Arkansas Mischief by Boston Globe writer, Curtis Wilkie:
- “Though Chris had the lean and hungry look of a young journalist, his manner was that of a scholar. I discovered that the man belonging to the gentle voice on the phone had the cunning of a con artist but the soul of a true friend"
In 2002, Details Magazine named Vlasto one of the 50 most powerful people in the United States under 37. Diane Sawyer said, "He is of the tradition of journalists you don’t see any more. He has got a craggy integrity."
Recently, Vlasto produced the first interview with one of the women Anthony Weiner was sexting with, Meagan Broussard, together with 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...
20/20 anchor Chris Cuomo.
Awards
Vlasto has won more than a dozen awards including the Edward R. Murrow AwardEdward R. Murrow Award
The Edward R. Murrow Awards are presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association in recognition of what the Association terms "outstanding achievements in electronic journalism."-Judging:...
and the Joan Barone Award for his coverage of President Clinton.
He also won an Emmy Award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award for his coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks.
He was a 2003 Gerald Loeb Award winner.
Good Morning America
Emmy Awards- Excellence in Morning Programming Good Morning America, June 14, 2007.
- Outstanding Morning Program Good Morning America, Chris Vlasto, Senior Broadcast Producer, August 30, 2009.
- Outstanding Morning Program Good Morning America, Chris Vlasto, Senior Broadcast Producer, June 13th, 2008.