Neal Shapiro is an award-winning producer and media executive, with a 25-year career spanning print, broadcast, cable, and Internet.
He joined New York public media provider WNET.ORG as President in February 2007, becoming President and Chief Executive Officer on February 4, 2008. WNET.ORG creates award-winning broadcast and web content in the areas of arts and culture, news and public affairs, science and natural history, documentaries, and children’s programming for local, national and global audiences. WNET.ORG is the parent of New York public television stations Thirteen and WLIW21.
At the helm of WNET.ORG, Shapiro has launched a number of innovative programs and projects, including The New York War Stories Project; Reel 13, an on-air/online series for classic, short and independent films, SundayArts, a weekly showcase of New York’s arts and culture; the documentary The Jews of New York; the webcast and broadcast of the historic New York Philharmonic concert from North Korea; Worldfocus, a nightly international newscast for public television, seen in all top-30 American television markets; Blueprint America, a multimedia project designed to promote national discussion about America’s infrastructure needs; and It’s the Economy, NY, a series addressing the effects of the global financial crisis on New York.
Before coming to WNET.ORG, Shapiro was President of NBC News from June 2001 to September 2005, where he oversaw the global operations of NBC Universal’s top-ranked news division, leading the number-one-rated news programs in every day part: Today in the morning, NBC Nightly News in the evening and Meet the Press on Sunday morning. He also oversaw Dateline NBC, which, at the time, was the most-watched and most-honored news magazine on television.
Shapiro led NBC News’s award-winning and top-rated coverage of news stories ranging from the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the 2004 elections and Hurricane Katrina. He also leveraged cross-platform news division resources to benefit MSNBC, CNBC, NBC’s Spanish-language network, Telemundo, and the NBC owned and operated stations, and personally directed the successful anchor transition from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams. He also created NBC News Productions, which produces programming for many cable channels, including A&E, Bravo, Court TV, Discovery, The History Channel, and Lifetime, developed two successful syndicated programs, The Chris Matthews Show and Your Total Health with Hoda Kotb, and spearheaded changes that helped make MSNBC.com the nation’s number-one Internet news and information site.
From 1993 to 2001, Shapiro was executive producer of Dateline NBC, which became the most-honored newsmagazine on television, receiving every top award in the industry.
Before NBC, Shapiro spent 13 years at ABC News, where he produced for PrimeTime Live and World News Tonight. While at ABC, he received a George Polk Award, two Emmy Awards and an Investigative Reporter and Editors Award.
Shapiro graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1980 with degrees in history and political science. He has taught journalism at Tufts and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and has lectured at many universities, including MIT and Stanford. He is married to ABC News Correspondent JuJu Chang. They have three sons and live in New York City. He was elected to the Tufts University Board of Trustees in 2008.
Last updated: January 2009
