Danny Schechter | |
---|---|
Born |
New York City, New York |
June 27, 1942
Died | March 19, 2015 New York City, New York |
(aged 72)
Cause of death | pancreatic cancer |
Alma mater | Cornell University, London School of Economics |
Occupation | television producer, filmmaker, media critic, author, professor |
Organization | African National Congress, Artists United Against Apartheid |
Movement | Northern Student Movement, anti-apartheid |
Awards | see awards and honors |
America’s Surveillance State (2014) | |
Who Rules America? (2012) | |
In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts (2006) |
Daniel Isaac "Danny" Schechter (June 27, 1942 – March 19, 2015) was an American television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic. He wrote and spoke about many issues including apartheid, civil rights, economics, foreign policy, journalistic control and ethics, and medicine. While attending the London School of Economics in the 1960s Schechter became an anti-apartheid activist and made trips to South Africa on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC). Later he would help musician Steven Van Zandt assemble other performers to form Artists United Against Apartheid who released the album Sun City in 1985. Schechter produced and directed six nonfiction films about Nelson Mandela from the time Mandela was a political prisoner to his election and service as President of South Africa.
Schechter's first job in media was with WBCN-FM in Boston, Massachusetts during the 1970s where he became known as "Danny Schechter, the news dissector", a nickname that stuck throughout his life. He continued to work in media with ABC and the start-up cable television news station CNN until he abandoned corporate media and founded Globalvision with his friend and longtime associate Rory O'Connor. Globalvision produced South Africa Now which was a television show that focused on the anti-apartheid struggle and news and culture from South Africa. He authored over 14 books.