Wikipedia

Jana Bennett

Jana Eve BennettOBE(6 November 1955 – 11 January 2022) was an American-born British media consultant; member of the board of theBritish Library;member of the board of theHeadlongTheatre Company. Previously she was President and General Manager ofHistory,andH2atA+E Networksin New York City. She joined A+E Networks in June 2013 as President ofThe Biography Channel(later bio) andLifetime Movie Network.Bio was rebranded asFYIin July 2014.[citation needed]

Jana Bennett
OBE
Born
Jana Eve Bennett

(1955-11-06)6 November 1955
Cooperstown, New York,U.S.
Died11 January 2022(2022-01-11)(aged 66)
Oxfordshire,England
EducationSt Anne's College, Oxford(BA)
London School of Economics(MSc)
OccupationMedia executive
Employer(s)BBC(1979–1999; 2002–2012)
Discovery Communications(1999–2002)
A&E Networks(2012–2017)
Spouse
Richard Clemmow
​
(m.1995)​
Children2

Prior to joining A+E Networks, she was President of BBC Worldwide Networks and Global BBC iPlayer. In that role she was responsible forBBC Worldwide'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 theBBCfrom 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."[1]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.[2]She was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager atDiscovery Communicationsin theUS.[1]

Bennett was a member of the governing board of thePew Research Center.She was also a Governor of theRoyal Shakespeare Company[3]and was made a Fellow of theRoyal Television Societyin 1999.[4]

Early life and education

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Bennett was born inCooperstown, New Yorkon 6 November 1955, the third of five daughters born to Gordon and Elizabeth (née Cushing) Bennett.[5]Her father was an English professor and her mother was a librarian and educator.[6][7]In 1969, her family moved to England, living inFelpham,where she was educated atBognor RegisComprehensive School.[5]She then studiedphilosophy, politics and economicsatSt Anne's College, Oxford,where she was in a band with future Prime Minister Tony Blair.[2]She undertook post-graduate studies at theLondon School of Economicswhere she was awarded an MSc (Dist) for her work on strategic analysis and international and defence studies.[7]

BBC career

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In 1979, Bennett won a place on theBBC Newstrainee scheme, and began her first period of employment with the corporation working on radio and television news; BBC Newcastle'sLook NorthandRadio Sheffield.She worked onNationwide,The Money ProgrammeandNewsnight.She became a producer ofPanoramain 1986, and co-authoredThe Disappeared: Voices from a Secret Warwith the BBC's diplomatic editorJohn Simpsonabout the actions of Argentina's military government during the same year. In 1990, she became editor of the BBC's science documentary seriesHorizon.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.[2]Awards she won during this period included the 1991 News and DocumentaryEmmyfor her role as Executive Producer of the film "Suicide Mission to Chernobyl" which also aired on the WGBH programNovain 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.[2]Under her leadership, the department expanded the range and ambition of its programming, winning awards for series such asWalking with Dinosaurs,The Human BodyandMeet The Ancestorsand business formats such asBlood on the Carpet,Back to the Floorand the medical formatTrust Me, I'm a Doctor.She introduced a new animal genre to UK television with the highly successful and long-runningAnimal Hospital,[8]alongside live events such asHospitalwatch.The science department also pioneered content rich web sites and was one of the first areas to use email inside the BBC.[citation needed]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 theTLCchannel in August 1999. She was appointed an OBE in 2000 for her work in science broadcasting.[9]

Discovery Communications

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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[10]likeTrading Spaces,andJunkyard Warsexemplified a shift in programming towards more mass-appeal shows. Ratings rose under her leadership.[7]

Later BBC career

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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 Four,HD TV and the children's channels,CBBCandCBeebies.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.[citation needed]

In 2006 the BBC's Director-General,Mark Thompsonreorganised 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 theBBC NewsandParliamentchannels), the web, mobile phones and interactive technology.[11]

During Bennett's tenure, BBC television was responsible for natural history landmarks, such asLife,worldwide entertainment hits, includingStrictly Come Dancing,The ApprenticeandTop Gear;new comedy formats, such asOutnumberedandGavin & Stacey.Dramas ranged from period classics likeCranfordto contemporary pieces such asCriminal JusticeandOccupation,from science fiction in the shape ofTorchwoodandDoctor Whoto detective series such asLife on Mars,WallanderandSherlock.[citation needed]

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 theRoyal Television Societyin 2007, she articulated a fresh approach to the BBC's mission to inform and educate in the digital era.[12]She also championed new multi-media approaches to major fundraising entertainment events. In partnership withComic Relief,the BBC produced the first truly digitalRed Nose Dayin 2009.

She implemented the BBC's out of London strategy for commissioning and production.[13]In 2010, she launched the BBC's year of science across television, radio and online.[14]In the same year she established BBC One HD,[15]and also announced a major new Shakespeare Season.[16][17]

In addition to the BBC branded television channels, as Director of Vision, Bennett had responsibility for feature film production throughBBC Films,whose credits include Oscar-winningMan on Wireas well as BAFTA award-winnersMrs Brown,An Education,In the Loop,Fish TankandStreetDance 3D,the first 3D film produced outside the US. Bennett was appointed toBBC Worldwideas President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer in February 2011.[18]Bennett left BBC Worldwide in 2012 following a reorganisation of the company.[19]

A+E Networks

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In June 2012, Bennett was appointed President ofThe Biography Channel (bio)andLifetime Movie Network (LMN)atA+E Networksin New York.[20]She served in this role until 2017.[7]

Personal life

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Bennett was a member of theInternational Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Executive Committee and of the Advisory Board of theOxford University Museum of Natural History.She was a trustee ofComic Relief,on the board of OurBrainBank UK, and fellow of theRoyal Television Society.She was on the board ofWomen in Film and Televisionand in 2011 and 2012 she was included in the WFTV power list.[21][22]

In 1995, Bennett married Richard Clemmow, an editor and fellow media executive. The couple had two children.[7]

In May 2019, Bennett was diagnosed withglioblastoma,a kind of brain tumour.[5]She died at her home in Oxfordshire on 11 January 2022, at the age of 66.[7]

Bibliography

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  • Bennett, Jana; Simpson, John (1986).The Disappeared: Story of Argentina's Secret War of Oppression.Sphere.ISBN0722178751.

References

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  1. ^ab"BBC Newsnight profile".BBC. 12 March 2009.Retrieved6 September2013.
  2. ^abcd"Jana Bennett obituary".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved10 February2022.
  3. ^"Annual Report".Royal Shakespeare Company.Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2013.Retrieved6 September2013.
  4. ^"RTS Fellows".Royal Television Society.Retrieved6 September2013.
  5. ^abcHeggessey, Lorraine(25 January 2022)."Jana Bennett obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved26 January2022.
  6. ^"MediaGuardian Top 100 2009".The Guardian.London. 13 July 2009.Retrieved6 September2013.
  7. ^abcdefSeelye, Katharine Q. (26 January 2022)."Jana Bennett, Former Director of BBC Television, Dies at 66".The New York Times.Retrieved26 January2022.
  8. ^"Google Drive Viewer".Docs.google.Retrieved15 September2013.
  9. ^"TLC'S Jana Bennett Receives Order of the British Empire At Buckingham Palace".PRNewswire (via The Free Library). 5 December 2000.Retrieved6 September2013.
  10. ^"All eyes are on TLC's home show | The Seattle Times".Archive.seattletimes.Retrieved13 January2022.
  11. ^"BBC Vision launches with a promise to audiences"(Press release). BBC. 20 November 2006.Retrieved6 September2013.
  12. ^"Jana Bennett speech given to the Royal Television Society, London"(Press release). BBC. 20 September 2007.Retrieved15 September2013.
  13. ^"Beyond the M25: A BBC for all of the UK"(Press release). BBC. 15 October 2008.Retrieved15 September2013.
  14. ^"BBC launches year of science".Royal Society.Retrieved15 September2013.
  15. ^"BBC One HD Channel to launch 3 November"(Press release). BBC.Retrieved15 September2013.
  16. ^Singh, Anita (21 September 2010)."The live play's the thing in BBC Shakespeare season".London: Telegraph.Retrieved15 September2013.
  17. ^"Vision Forum 2010"(Press release). BBC.Retrieved15 September2013.
  18. ^"BBC Press release: Jana Bennett to join BBC Worldwide as President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer"(Press release).BBC.2 December 2010.Retrieved15 September2013.
  19. ^"New BBC Worldwide organisational design moves P&L ownership from divisions to geographies"(Press release). BBC. 22 June 2012.Retrieved7 September2013.
  20. ^"Executive Bios — Jana Bennett".A+E Networks.Retrieved7 September2013.
  21. ^"Power List | WFTV | Women in Film and Television".WFTV. 8 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 11 March 2012.Retrieved15 September2013.
  22. ^"Women in film and television Top 50 Powerlist 2012 | Media".London: theguardian. 8 March 2012.Retrieved15 September2013.
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