Jana Eve Bennett (6 November 1955 – 11 January 2022) was an American-born British media consultant; member of the board of the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
; member of the board of the
Headlong Theatre Company; and Adviser to Ozy Media. Previously she was President and General Manager of
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, and
H2 at
A+E Networks
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
in New York City. She joined A+E Networks in June 2013 as President of
The Biography Channel
FYI (stylized as fyi,) is an American basic cable channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications (each owns 50%). The network features lifestyle pr ...
(later bio) and
Lifetime Movie Network
LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...
. Bio was rebranded as
FYI
"FYI" is a common abbreviation of "for your information" (or "for your interest").
"FYI" is commonly used in email, instant messaging and other messages to indicate an informational message, with an intent to communicate to the receiver that they ...
in July 2014.
Prior to joining A+E Networks, she was President of BBC Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer. In that role she was responsible for
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
's television channels, which operate in more than 100 countries, and the development and roll out of the commercial global iPlayer. She was also Worldwide's Managing Director for Latin America with oversight of the company's businesses in the region. She sat on Worldwide's Executive Board and on the Board of UKTV, Britain's second largest pay-TV group. She took up this role in February 2011 moving from the BBC's UK public service where she had been Director of Vision at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
from 2006. As Director of BBC Vision, she headed "the largest multi-media production, commissioning and broadcast group of its kind in the world" with overall responsibility for BBC Television and its online services, BBC Films and BBC Productions. Previously she was Director of Television (appointed January 2002). In her two most recent roles at the BBC, Jana Bennett "steered the BBC TV portfolio through its transition into the mainstream digital age."
She was the first female director of the BBC, and oversaw the launch of numerous shows, including Strictly Come Dancing, Miranda, and the reinvented Doctor Who franchise.
She was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager at
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chann ...
in the
US.
Bennett was a member of the governing board of the
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
. She was also a Governor of the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
and was made a Fellow of the
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
in 1999.
Early life and education
Bennett was born in
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...
on 6 November 1955, the third of five daughters born to Gordon and Elizabeth (née Cushing) Bennett.
Her father was an English professor and her mother was a librarian and educator.
In 1969, her family moved to England, living in
Felpham
Felpham (, sometimes pronounced locally as ''Felf-fm'') is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. Although sometimes considered part of the urban area of greater Bognor Regis, it is a village and civil parish in ...
, where she was educated at
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...
Comprehensive School.
[ She then studied philosophy, politics and economics at ]St Anne's College, Oxford
St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...
, where she was in a band with future Prime Minister Tony Blair. She undertook post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
where she was awarded an MSc (Dist) for her work on strategic analysis and international and defence studies.[
]
BBC career
In 1979, Bennett won a place on the BBC News trainee scheme, and began her first period of employment with the corporation working on radio and television news; BBC Newcastle's ''Look North
''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England:
*''BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region
*''BBC Look North'' for the BBC Yorkshire region
*''BBC Look No ...
'' and Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC's local radio station serving South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital television and via BBC Sounds from studios on Shoreham Street in Sheffield.
According to RAJAR, the statio ...
. She worked on '' Nationwide'', ''The Money Programme
''The Money Programme'' is a finance and business affairs television programme on BBC Two which ran between April 1966 and November 2010. It was first broadcast on 5 April 1966 and presented by "commentators" (financial journalists) William Davis ...
'' and ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
''. She became a producer of ''Panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' in 1986, and co-authored ''The Disappeared: Voices from a Secret War'' with the BBC's diplomatic editor John Simpson about the actions of Argentina's military government during the same year. In 1990, she became editor of the BBC's science documentary series ''Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
''. One of her most successful episodes was "Death of the Iceman", about a body retrieved from a glacier which turned out to be the oldest frozen mummy ever to be found. Awards she won during this period included the 1991 News and Documentary Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for her role as Executive Producer of the film "Suicide Mission to Chernobyl" which also aired on the WGBH program ''Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' in the United States.
In 1994, she was appointed the BBC's Head of Science, the first woman to take that role. She initially didn't believe she would get the job, as she was heavily pregnant when she interviewed for the post. Under her leadership, the department expanded the range and ambition of its programming, winning awards for series such as ''Walking with Dinosaurs
''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. Envi ...
'', ''The Human Body'' and ''Meet The Ancestors'' and business formats such as ''Blood on the Carpet'', ''Back to the Floor'' and the medical format ''Trust Me, I'm a Doctor''. She introduced a new animal genre to UK television with the highly successful and long-running ''Animal Hospital'', alongside live events such as ''Hospitalwatch''. The science department also pioneered content rich web sites and was one of the first areas to use email inside the BBC. She joined the BBC's Board of Management in 1997 as Director of Production, then became Director of Programmes for the former BBC Production division until she left the BBC to join Discovery Communications as General Manager of the TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an As ...
channel in August 1999. She was appointed an OBE in 2000 for her work in science broadcasting.
Discovery Communications
At TLC Bennett transformed the channel's ratings and revenue performance. She introduced a new editorial direction under the slogan "Life Unscripted" which included reality-drama and interior design shows, some of them based on popular British formats. The audience success of shows like ''Trading Spaces
''Trading Spaces'' is an hour-long American television reality program that originally aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series ''Changing Rooms''. The first ...
'', and ''Junkyard Wars
''Scrapheap Challenge'' is a British television show where teams of contestants build a working machine that can perform a specific task, using materials available in a Wrecking yard, scrapyard. The series features teams of four or five member ...
'' exemplified a shift in programming towards more mass-appeal shows. Ratings rose under her leadership.[
]
Later BBC career
In 2002, Bennett returned to the UK to take the job of Director of Television. In this capacity she took charge of the launch and expansion of the BBC's portfolio of 7 digital TV channels: BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
, BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 , HD TV and the children's channels, CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
and CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
. This included winning the approval of the government for the launch of BBC Three, the corporation's youth orientated digital television channel, which at the time was considered by some to be a controversial development for the BBC.
In 2006 the BBC's Director-General, Mark Thompson reorganised the BBC's divisional structure, creating BBC Vision from the amalgamation of the corporation's Television, Drama Entertainment & Children's and Factual & Learning divisions. Bennett was promoted from Director of Television to Director of Vision taking "overall creative and leadership responsibility" for the commissioning, production and scheduling of television, video and online content across the BBC's analogue and digital television networks (excluding the BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
and Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
channels), the web, mobile phones and interactive technology.
During Bennett's tenure, BBC television was responsible for natural history landmarks, such as ''Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', worldwide entertainment hits, including ''Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', ''The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'' and ''Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
''; new comedy formats, such as Outnumbered and ''Gavin & Stacey
''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...
''. Dramas ranged from period classics like '' Cranford'' to contemporary pieces such as ''Criminal Justice'' and ''Occupation'', from science fiction in the shape of ''Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...
'' and ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' to detective series such as ''Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
'', ''Wallander Wallander may refer to:
TV, film, books
* Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell
:* ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring Rolf Lassgård
:* ''Wal ...
'' and '' Sherlock''.
Bennett's division was also heavily involved in the planning and launch of the corporation's on-demand service, BBC iPlayer, providing 400 hours content for the service each week. In a speech to the Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
in 2007, she articulated a fresh approach to the BBC's mission to inform and educate in the digital era. She also championed new multi-media approaches to major fundraising entertainment events. In partnership with Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
, the BBC produced the first truly digital Red Nose Day
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
in 2009.
She implemented the BBC's out of London strategy for commissioning and production. In 2010, she launched the BBC's year of science across television, radio and online. In the same year she established BBC One HD, and also announced a major new Shakespeare Season.
In addition to the BBC branded television channels, as Director of Vision, Bennett had responsibility for feature film production through BBC Films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...
, whose credits include Oscar-winning ''Man on Wire
''Man on Wire'' is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, ''To Reach the Clouds'', r ...
'' as well as BAFTA award-winners ''Mrs Brown
''Mrs Brown'' (also theatrically released as ''Her Majesty, Mrs Brown'') is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was written by Jeremy Brock and d ...
'', ''An Education
''An Education'' is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby. It stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgi ...
'', '' In the Loop'', ''Fish Tank
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
'' and ''StreetDance 3D
''StreetDance 3D'' (also called ''StreetDance'') is a 2010 British 3D dance comedy-drama film which was released on 21 May 2010. The film was released in RealD 3D, XpanD 3D, and Dolby 3D with Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini directing it. ''Britain's ...
'', the first 3D film produced outside the US. Bennett was appointed to BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
as President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer in February 2011. Bennett left BBC Worldwide in 2012 following a reorganisation of the company.
A+E Networks
In June 2012, Bennett was appointed President of The Biography Channel (bio) and Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) at A+E Networks
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
in New York. She served in this role until 2017.[
]
Personal life
Bennett was a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) is an American nonprofit membership organization, based in New York City, composed of leading media and entertainment executives across all sectors of the television industry, from ov ...
' Executive Committee and of the Advisory Board of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...
. She was a trustee of Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
, on the board of OurBrainBank UK, and fellow of the Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
. She was on the board of Women in Film and Television
Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...
and in 2011 and 2012 she was included in the WFTV power list.
In 1995, Bennett married Richard Clemmow, an editor and fellow media executive. The couple had two children.[
In May 2019, Bennett was diagnosed with ]glioblastoma
Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...
, a kind of brain tumour.[ She died at her home in Oxfordshire on 11 January 2022, at the age of 66.][
]
Bibliography
*
References
External links
BBC Press Office biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jana
1955 births
2022 deaths
20th-century British businesswomen
21st-century British businesswomen
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
American emigrants to England
BBC executives
Businesspeople from New York (state)
Deaths from brain cancer in England
Emmy Award winners
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Felpham
People from Cooperstown, New York
Royal Shakespeare Company members
WFTV Award winners