Barbara Bloom is an American television executive and writer best known for her work in

daytime television Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning da ...

Career

Barbara got her start at Grey Entertainment and Media as a Copywriter and Account Executive, working on the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

account, creating print, radio and television advertising for ABC. In 1992, Bloom was hired by ABC to be the associate director of Advertising for their Daytime division. Later that year she was promoted to Director of Advertising and Promotion where she worked closely with Marla Provencio. Under Pat Fili-Krushel's leadership as President of

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows. Histor ...

, Bloom's role expanded to include Programming Executive on the Daytime Drama '' One Life to Live''. In 1994, Bloom relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

as Vice President Daytime Programming West Coast. In this capacity she was responsible for '' General Hospital,'' initiating and overseeing the GH companion book, NYTIMES best seller ''Robin’s Diary''. Bloom and ''General Hospital'' Producer Wendy Riche developed the half hour ''General Hospital'' spin-off, ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

,'' launched in 1997. In 2000 Bloom was recruited by ''Port Charles'' Executive Producer Julie Carruthers and ABC Daytime President Angela Shapiro to become Head Writer of ''Port Charles.'' That year she transitioned to Co-Headwriter under leadership of Barbara Esenstein and Jim Brown. Along with EP Julie Carruthers, the trio evolved the format of ''Port Charles'' to mirror the novella approach of Latin soap operas, with a new chapter beginning every thirteen weeks. In 2003, Bloom was hired by CBS's

Leslie Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...

and Nancy Tellem to be Senior VP of Daytime and Children's Programming for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In addition to the CBS soaps, ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

,'' ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

,'' ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' and '' Guiding Light,'' CBS's line-up included ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

.'' Bloom successfully guided the transition of

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...

as Bob Barker's successor and installed Mike Richards as Executive Producer. Bloom extended Daytime's reach with the original digital series ''Inturn,'' a realized version of ''The Young and the Restless’s''

Jabot Cosmetics Jabot Cosmetics is a fictional cosmetics business on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Jabot Cosmetics was founded by John Abbott in the 1960s. His children Jack Abbott and Ashley Abbott have worked there. It is currentl ...

. Bloom steered CBS away from its soap-centric roots and introduced the division's first development slate, launching ''

Let's Make a Deal ''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...

'' with

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

in 2009 and developing '' The Talk,'' the network's first owned daytime show. In recognition of her work reimagining CBS Daytime, Bloom was honored with Ad Age's Media Maven Award in 2010. Bloom left CBS when her contract expired in 2011. In subsequent years, she focused on her family and on applying her strategic and narrative skills to the non-profit arena. Bloom returned to television in 2017, penning with Jenny Lynn episode 5014 "The Sin Eater" of the CW's hit show '' Arrow.'' She continues to work as a writer and Non-Profit Narrative Consultant in Los Angeles. In 2017, it was revealed via ''Daytime Confidential'' that Barbara Bloom had been hired to write Breakdown at ABC's last remaining soap opera ''General Hospital''.

Education and personal life

A graduate of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

(1983) Barbara also attended Circle in the Squares Professional Program where she met her husband, actor Frank Clem. The two were married in 1992 and have three children.

Television credits

*''

'' (Breakdown writer: 2007) *''

'' ( co-Head Writer: May 2000-November 9, 2000 (hired by

Angela Shapiro Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * Ang ...

); associate head writer: November 10, 2000 – August 7, 2003) *'' One Life to Live'' ( Program Executive: 1993) *'' General Hospital'' (Breakdown Writer: December 18, 2017 – June 28, 2021)

References

External links

CBS Daytime profileEpilepsy Foundation
*https://web.archive.org/web/20050924173452/http://soaps.about.com/b/a/114031.htm
TV Guide
*http://www.mytvisonfire.com/couchpotato/2007/06/20/press-release-cbs-daytime-goes-online/
WorldScreenBackStage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Barbara American television executives American soap opera writers Daytime Emmy Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Soap opera producers American television producers American women television producers American women television writers Skidmore College alumni CBS executives CBS Daytime executives ABC Daytime executives American Broadcasting Company executives Women television executives Women soap opera writers