Bill Baker

Dr. William F. Baker, CEO of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of public broadcasters Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York, has led the most watched public TV station in the US, with 6.2 million viewers monthly. Channel 13 is the largest producer of cultural and arts programming in America, Hundreds of artists throughout the world have been featured on these programs, including many AICF alumni especially on WLIW21, the sister station. Many educational segments on Channel 13 have been used as classroom tools by teachers, and PBS was named the most trusted public institution and news source in America according to a recent Roper Study. William Baker is the most visible face of PBS in New York. Mr. Baker has been the recipient of 7 Emmy awards, holds honorary Doctorates from Fordham, The New School, Seton Hall, and Long Island University, and has guest lectured at many universities, including the University of San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale, Additional awards include the New York International Film Festival Award, the RCA Special Service Award and Sarnoff Citation, and the Columbia University Kappa Delta Educator of the Year Award, He is also a member of the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. An Academy of the Arts and Sciences Fellow and recent winner (2007) of the Lincoln Center Institute Mark Schubart Award, Mr. Baker has also published books and articles on varied subjects, including broadcasting and television, photography, Antarctica (he has traveled to both poles), and light houses. He has helped launch the Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, and Oprah Winfrey. He has been described as a visionary, an outstanding leader in both public and commercial television, a man of diverse interests which [he] pursues with such eagerness and depth, and as unique in the industry. Mr. Baker has a B.A., M.A., and PhD from Case Western University, He has two children with his wife Jeannemarie.