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Frank Sesno is an American
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
, former
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
correspondent, anchor and Washington bureau chief, author, and former director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
. Sesno is also the creator and host of Planet Forward, a web-to-television show on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. Sesno is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs at the
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
. Sesno assumed the Director's role at the School of Media and Public Affairs in September 2009 and stepped down from the role in June 2020. In 2020, Sesno announced he would serve as the school’s director of strategic initiatives.


Career

Sesno received his Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College 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 multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
in 1984, Sesno worked as a radio correspondent at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
and in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
for the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
. During his CNN career, he served in many parts of the world, as well as Washington bureau chief. He has also worked with
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, producing several shows about political topics, including U.S. homeland security and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. 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 Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
,
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan and former General Electric Co. CEO
Jack Welch John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001. When Welch retired from GE, he receive ...
, the late Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
, Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...
, and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
. He covered stories ranging from the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
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 hi
Profile
o
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!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' show. In 2012, controversy surrounded Sesno's moderation of a debate at The George Washington University between conservative commentator
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...
and
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
host
Lawrence O'Donnell Lawrence Francis O'Donnell Jr. (born November 7, 1951) is an American television anchor, actor, liberal political commentator, and host of '' The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'', an MSNBC opinion and news program that airs on weeknights. H ...
. Coulter accused Sesno of biased moderating and said he treated her like a 'crazy broad' after he repeatedly responded to her points rather than allow O'Donnell to respond. In 2016, Sesno appeared as a news anchor on
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...
in the eighth episode of the fourth season titled "Chapter 48." In 2017, Sesno published ''Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark Change'' with a foreword by
Wolf Blitzer Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist, television news anchor, and author who has been a CNN reporter since 1990, and who currently serves as one of the principal anchors at the network. He is the host of ''The Situa ...
. ''Ask More'' focuses on how successful individuals formulate and ask the "right" questions. In 2019, the School of Media and Public Affairs announced that Director Frank Sesno would step down after an 11-year tenure as the school’s head at the end of 2019-2020 academic year. In 2020, Frank Sesno announced he will serve as the School of Media and Public Affairs director of strategic initiatives following a sabbatical.


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 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
and
The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
. *1992, Co-Anchor, ''The World Today'' (
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) *2002, Appearance, ''Who Counts?'' (
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
) *2002, Producer, ''Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered'' (
The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
) *2003, Moderator, ''Avoiding Armageddon'' (
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) **''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'' ( WETA-
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
) *''The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer'', Regular Contributor (
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) *''Fueling the Future'', series,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
*2007, ''We Were Warned: Tomorrow's Oil Crisis'' (
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
) *2008, Appearance, ''Pritzker Military Library Presents: Front & Center with John Callaway, The Politics of Defense'' *2009, '' Planet Forward'', Pilot and Web-Sequel


Awards

* Emmy award, for his coverage of the 1993 Midwest flooding, ''“In Nature’s Wake”.'' *
CableAce Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Am ...
, for coverage of the superpower summits *
Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...
Award, for best spot news reporting from abroad *The
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
Award, for best consumer reporting on the breakup of the Bell system * Lincoln University's Unity Award, for his 1992 documentary on economic dislocation in the United States.


References


External links

*Sesno's biography a
The George Washington University

Planet Forward
Sesno's viewer-driven PBS program and website focusing on energy, climate and sustainability issues. *Frank Sesno'
profile
at Planet Forward.
Sesno participates in a panel discussion, ''The Politics of Defense & National Security: Where do the U.S. Presidential Candidates Stand?''
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Sesno interviews Gen. Richard B. Myers, USAF (Ret.) on his book ''Eyes on the Horizon: Serving on the Front Lines of National Security''
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sesno, Frank Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Middlebury College alumni George Washington University faculty CNN people