Creating Conversations on Important Issues
Carol Blakeslee-Collin '69, Producer, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

By Julie C. Grady ’82

Working as a producer for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer has been both a personally and professionally satisfying choice for Carol Blakeslee-Collin '69. A self-proclaimed generalist, since 1983 she has worked on stories from defense to politics, urban blight and affordable housing, and other topics of national concern. A seasoned broadcast veteran, she could earn more money in commercial television, but feels working for public television enables her to do work that is compatible with her values. "I feel the need to create national conversations on important issues," she explained.

"Documentary-style taped pieces that vary in length from five to 15 minutes," is how Blakeslee-Collin describes her work. But not all of the pieces are on weighty topics. She has covered entertainment topics, including a profile of Randy Newman as well as a profile on Kevin Klein in the role of Falstaff, in Henry IV. "I got to go to New York and see this great play at a time when you couldn't get tickets," she noted, relishing the memory of her crew shooting Klein putting on his make-up for the performance.

Regardless of the assignment, her job demands careful research, writing and editing, though the mix of each varies depending on the topic and the correspondent with whom she is teamed. Blakeslee-Collin usually researches the subject, often extensively. She finds interview subjects, directs shooting in the field, fastidiously logs the video and at times writes the script. With Ray Suarez, for example, she may draft a script and he will fill in and imprint his style and insights into the finished product. She noted, "I'm the bones, he's the poetry."

Working in public television, Blakeslee-Collin has learned to work within a limited budget. Other challenges include writing on deadline and dealing with people to get a story done. A hands-on job is exactly the way she likes it. "I really love to do the stories myself," she said, adding that, "If it (the story) is good, the correspondent takes the bows. If it's not good, I seem to take the bows."

Blakeslee-Collin work is good and she has won several awards recognizing it. In 1984, she won an Emmy for outstanding coverage of the farm crisis in Iowa. Prior to that, she won an Ohio State University award for a series called " USA: People and Politics." Most recently, she was honored in 2000 by the American Psych-iatric Association for a story she produced on schizophrenia.

Her favorite work, however, was a six-part series produced in 2002 entitled, "How We Live" with Suarez. The series examined the challenges of contemporary life and common issues like urban sprawl and affordable housing, sustainable growth, quality of life and community planning that signal profound changes in our lives.

The oldest of five children, Blakeslee-Collin grew up in Windham, NY, a small ski town. The daughter of a doctor and homemaker, she thought about attending Middlebury College in Vermont, but her parents wanted her to attend a Catholic college so Blakeslee-Collin went to Trinity. She majored in history and spent a year in Spain. She also studied theology and political science, the same topics she pursued in 1985-86 during a six-month fellowship at the University of Chicago.

Blakeslee-Collin didn't initially set her sights on journalism while at Trinity. With plans to attend law school, a terrible accident on the night of graduation changed her life. Her three-month recuperation period was a maturing experience, and she explained, "Life was more valuable after that."

Instead of attending law school, she interviewed at one of Washington, D.C.'s television stations, WMAL, which would later become WJLA. Hired as a management trainee, she worked her way up from a production trainee to assistant director and producer on the six and eleven o'clock news.

During the 1970s, Blakeslee-Collin worked for PBS as a production assistant and associate producer, and gained professional experience in researching, editing and production, and finally a producer. She then left public television to become a producer for 20/20, a weekly news magazine on ABC News. After five years in commercial television, Blakeslee-Collin became an independent producer working on PBS documentaries and international programming for British Independent Television news. She began her current position at The NewsHour in 1983 when an opening for a producer came up. Coming to public television was a conscious decision based on her values, she said. "I was returning to a place where I really feel good. It was definitely a values choice."

In addition to her professional job, Blakeslee-Collin is passionate about her volunteer work at St. Mark's Church on Capitol Hill. She co-directs the religious education program, supervising 77 teachers and other volunteers to deliver a wide range of educational programs to the 700-plus members of the church. "Church building is about helping people find a place where they belong, a community," she said.

What advice would Blakeslee-Collin give to Trinity students today who are interested in television? "Learn to write. Take a lot of history, political science and English courses. You can learn the craft side [of communications] in graduate school."

Like other industries, communications has seen significant technological advances in the past decade, and there is no end in sight. "Now you can edit a piece and send it over the Internet."