Reese Schonfeld

Reese Schonfeld

Reese Schonfeld

Television executive
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Reese Schonfeld

Television executive

November 5, 1931

Newark, New Jersey

July 28, 2020

Reese Schonfeld was an American television executive and businessman.

With a degree in government from Dartmouth and a graduate of Columbia Law School, he began his career in entertainment with United Press Movietone News in 1956.

Schonfeld would rise to become the vice president of United Press International Television News and, in 1975, founded the Independent Television News Association, providing independent television stations with pooled news coverage.

He is perhaps best known for being a co-founder of the Cable News Network alongside Ted Turner, becoming CNN's founding president in charge of content, personnel, and scheduling.

Schonfeld also produced the CBS television series People Magazine and developed, launched, and presided over The Food Network in the early 1990s.

Schonfeld died July 28, 2020, in Manhattan, New York. He was 88.

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