Frank Sesno
Encyclopedia
Frank Sesno is an award-winning American
journalist
, former CNN
correspondent, anchor and Washington bureau chief, and director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University
. Sesno is also the creator and host of Planet Forward
, a web-to-television show on PBS. Sesno is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University
. Sesno assumed the Director's role at the School of Media and Public Affairs in September, 2009.
in 1977, where he would later serve as one of its trustees. Sesno worked as news director at WCFR, a local radio station in Springfield, Vermont, where he hosted an interview show "Checkpoint" every day. Before joining CNN
in 1984, Sesno worked as a radio correspondent at the White House
and in London
for the Associated Press
. During his CNN career, he served in many parts of the world, as well as Washington bureau chief. He has also worked with PBS, producing several shows about political topics, including U.S. homeland security and Iraq
. Sesno's diverse career spans over 25 years of experience, including 18 years at CNN, where he still continues to serve as a special correspondent. His current work at CNN involves producing documentaries, among other reporting and commentary responsibilities. Sesno has interviewed business and government leaders including U.S. Presidents George W. Bush
, Bill Clinton
, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan
and former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch
, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
. He covered stories ranging from the Iraq War to the disputed U.S. presidential election of 2000
.
Frank Sesno is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
. His most recent project, Planet Forward
, serves to bridge the gap between conventional and emerging media to move the discussion of the environment in the direction of real-world solutions and discussion. Its hybrid web/television format focuses on energy, climate and sustainability
issues. Sesno completes regular webisodes on the Planet Forward website through his Profile on Planet Forward.
He currently hosts the PBS program "The Future of News."
In 2000, while at CNN, Sesno appeared on the Democracy Now!
show.
.
Frank Sesno's profile at Planet Forward.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, former CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
correspondent, anchor and Washington bureau chief, and director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Sesno is also the creator and host of Planet Forward
Planet Forward
Planet Forward is a and PBS television special that launched in March 2009 and had a broadcast premiere April 15, 2009. Created and hosted by Frank Sesno, the project focuses on creating an online public forum where people from across the globe can discuss topics involving energy solutions and the...
, a web-to-television show on PBS. Sesno is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Sesno assumed the Director's role at the School of Media and Public Affairs in September, 2009.
Career
Sesno received his Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in 1977, where he would later serve as one of its trustees. Sesno worked as news director at WCFR, a local radio station in Springfield, Vermont, where he hosted an interview show "Checkpoint" every day. Before joining CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in 1984, Sesno worked as a radio correspondent at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. During his CNN career, he served in many parts of the world, as well as Washington bureau chief. He has also worked with PBS, producing several shows about political topics, including U.S. homeland security and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Sesno's diverse career spans over 25 years of experience, including 18 years at CNN, where he still continues to serve as a special correspondent. His current work at CNN involves producing documentaries, among other reporting and commentary responsibilities. Sesno has interviewed business and government leaders including U.S. Presidents George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, 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...
, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch
Jack Welch
John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. is an American chemical engineer, business executive, and author. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001...
, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
. He covered stories ranging from the Iraq War to the disputed U.S. presidential election of 2000
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
.
Frank Sesno is 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...
. His most recent project, Planet Forward
Planet Forward
Planet Forward is a and PBS television special that launched in March 2009 and had a broadcast premiere April 15, 2009. Created and hosted by Frank Sesno, the project focuses on creating an online public forum where people from across the globe can discuss topics involving energy solutions and the...
, serves to bridge the gap between conventional and emerging media to move the discussion of the environment in the direction of real-world solutions and discussion. Its hybrid web/television format focuses on energy, climate and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
issues. Sesno completes regular webisodes on the Planet Forward website through his Profile on Planet Forward.
He currently hosts the PBS program "The Future of News."
In 2000, while at CNN, Sesno appeared on the Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
show.
Notable works
In 2006, a highly rated Sesno documentary about the politics of energy appeared on CNN. His last program titled, "We Were Warned: Tomorrow's Oil Crisis," aired on CNN. He teaches how the media affects the creation of public policy and is a host and producer of in-depth specials and mini-series on PBS and The History ChannelThe History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
.
- 1992, Co-Anchor, The World Today (CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - 2002, Appearance, Who Counts? (PBS)
- 2002, Producer, Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered (The History ChannelThe History ChannelHistory, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
) - 2003, Moderator, Avoiding Armageddon (CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - Confronting Terrorism: Turning the Tide (episode)
- Nuclear Nightmares: Losing Control (episode)
- Silent Killers: Poisons and Plagues (episode)
- The New Face of Terror: Upping the Ante (episode)
- 2003, Narrator, LBJ vs. the Kennedys: Chasing Demons
- 2003, Narrator, JFK: A Presidency Revealed
- 2003, Moderator, Controversy: The Reagans
- 2004, Writer, Sesno Reports (WETAWetaWeta is the name given to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, though most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural...
-PBS) - The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Regular Contributor (CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - Fueling the Future, series, PBS
- 2007, We Were Warned: Tomorrow's Oil Crisis (CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
) - 2008, Appearance, Pritzker Military Library Presents: Front & Center with John Callaway, The Politics of Defense
- 2009, Planet ForwardPlanet ForwardPlanet Forward is a and PBS television special that launched in March 2009 and had a broadcast premiere April 15, 2009. Created and hosted by Frank Sesno, the project focuses on creating an online public forum where people from across the globe can discuss topics involving energy solutions and the...
, Pilot and Web-Sequel
Awards
- Emmy awardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
, for his coverage of the 1993 Midwest flooding, “In Nature’s Wake”. - CableAce AwardCableACE AwardThe CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
, for coverage of the superpower summitsCold War (1985-1991)The Cold War period of 1985–1991 began with the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev as leader of the Soviet-Slovakia Union. Gorbachev was a revolutionary leader for the USSR, as he was the first to promote liberalization of the political landscape and capitalist elements into the economy ; prior to this,... - Houston International Film Festival Award, for his interview of the Mexican president
- The Worldfest Houston Silver Award for his profile "Man of Courage"
- Overseas Press ClubOverseas Press ClubThe Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
Award, for best spot news reporting from abroad - The National Press Club Award, for best consumer reporting on the breakup of the Bell systemBell System divestitureThe Bell System divestiture, or the breakup of AT&T, was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The case, United States v...
- Lincoln University's Unity Award for his 1992 documentary on economic dislocation in the United States.
External links
Sesno's biography at The George Washington University- Planet Forward, Sesno's viewer-driven PBS program and website focusing on energy, climate and sustainability issues.
Frank Sesno's profile at Planet Forward.