Oscar Docs Discussion Leaders
MIKE MARTINI (Monday, July 24)
Cincinnati native and Xavier University graduate Mike Martini has spent over twenty years in radio, with early stints at commercial stations WLW, WWEZ and Warm98, and then the bulk of his career in public broadcasting, first at WVXU and now with WMKV FM 89.3.
Mike joined the WVXU staff full-time in 1987 as local host of NPR's "Morning Edition." Over the years he also hosted and produced other news programs and features and in 1998, began oversight of WVXU's award winning documentary unit productions.
In 2002, with Mark Magistrelli, Martini co-produced "Cincinnati Radio: The Nation's Station, 1921-1941," an audio documentary detailing the history of radio in Cincinnati from the beginnings up to World War Two. "It was the greatest experience in my professional life," says Martini. "I got to travel the country and interview dozens of broadcast veterans ... the greatest writer of them all--Norman Corwin." Currently, Mike hosts an afternoon big band program on WMKV and he teaches a broadcast writing class at Xavier University.
A few years ago, Mike uncovered another outlet for his radio passions including creative writing and historical research: While working on The Nation's Station and The Big Broadcast, Magistrelli and Martini became aware that recordings, photographs and other priceless items from the early years of radio and TV were vanishing at an alarming rate.
In 2001, they founded Media Heritage, a non-profit archive dedicated to the preservation of radio and television broadcast history. The new organization got off to a flying start with the acquisition of contracts, promotional materials and over 15,000 master discs from producer and syndication pioneer Frederic W. Ziv. To learn more about the Media Heritage/VOA Museum in West Chester Ohio, call 513-777-7891.
TIMOTHY SWALLOW (Monday, July 24)
In the realm of performing arts, over the last three decades Tim Swallow has produced numerous musical events, concerts, tours and festivals in the tri-state area. He marketed the season offerings of the Cincinnati Playhouse and Cincinnati Symphony & Pops Orchestras, and was a co-founder and first board president of the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.
On the technical side, Tim designed and the developed the membership tracking, season subscription and seat selection software used by the CSO, Columbus Opera and other arts organizations throughout the Midwest in the 1980s. With a B.S. in Management & Accounting and an M.B.A. in Marketing, he established marketing services and computer systems integration companies, serving clients in the Midwest area and then internationally in South America.
By way of family connections with RKO theatre chain management, Tim spent a portion of his childhood learning the workings of Cincinnati's classic single-screen movie palaces - the Albee, the Palace, the Grand, the Capitol and Keith's Theatre (R.I.P. 1974, 1978, 1975, 1967 and 1966, respectively). One of his prized possessions is the original velvet proscenium curtain rescued from The Albee Theatre before its demolition.
Roughly forty years after his introduction to the silver screen, Tim co-founded Cincinnati World Cinema with Dr. James Kesner in January, 2002 and currently serves as Executive Director, programming and producing film-and-discussion events including film festivals and collaborations with other area arts organizations.
MARK MAGISTRELLI (Tuesday, July 25)
Mark could easily be described as a Renaissance Man of broadcasting: radio producer, writer, historian; documentary producer; an authority on old-time radio and big band music, public television and cable production consultant, television producer and writer.
An Ohio native, Magistrelli is well known for his work at public radio station WVXU-FM, Cincinnati, where he created "When Swing Was King," which ran for 21 years and was one of WVXU's highest-grossing programs. Later, on public radio station WMKV-FM Mark produced a 15-hour retrospective, "Frank Sinatra: A Life in Music," which became a 15-week series. He has also produced six hour-length specials, creating a musical portrait of Bing Crosby which incorporated portions of Gary Giddins' critically acclaimed biography, "Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams."
Collaborating with fellow "old-time radio" expert Mike Martini, the pair created "The Big Broadcast," a weekly radio series featuring comedy, music and drama from the golden age of radio. The effort was a popular and critical success, boosting ratings at WVXU and attracting a surprisingly young and affluent audience. After WVXU was sold in 2005, Mark and Mike brought The Big Broadcast to WMKV-FM, Cincinnati.
Magistrelli brought his deep knowledge of vintage popular music to the stage when Xavier University commissioned him to write a theatre production celebrating George Gershwin's centennial. Drawing upon his own collection of "Gershwiniana" along with rare correspondence between the composer, his family and friends, Magistrelli created 'S Wonderful! 100 Years of Gershwin.
Apart from his work as a radio host, Mark has received national recognition for his accomplishments as a producer, writer and historian. His documentaries (including "The War Years" and "D-Day Plus 50 Years") have received numerous honors, including the Peabody Award. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently praised Mark's latest documentary, "The Nation's Station", as "astounding...an extraordinary achievement." Mark has served as a historical consultant for cable and public television programs, including the PBS production of "Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey." He has also utilized his audio restoration skills to produce several compact discs, such as "The Moon River Collection" and "The Christmas Music of Ruth Lyons."
Mark's career in television continues to run parallel to his radio activities. Currently working as a promotion producer/writer at WKRC-TV, Mark has spent 11 years in Cincinnati television, receiving 7 Emmys and 10 Emmy nominations for his work at WXIX-TV, WSTR-TV, WLWT-TV and WEWS-TV (Cleveland).
JAMES KESNER (Tuesday, July 25)
By day, Dr. James Kesner is a mild-mannered research biologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studying the impact of workplace hazards on women's reproductive health. Away from the laboratory, Jim has a passion for movies, especially those of the alternative genres including independent, foreign, documentary, and short films.
For more than 10 years, Jim has served as "Ringleader" for a diverse group of friends who meet weekly to watch a film, followed by discussion and socializing. In 2001, Jim programmed the foreign films portion of the first Cincinnati International Film Festival. In 2002, Tim Swallow and Jim established Cincinnati World Cinema to present quality films that otherwise wouldn't be shown in the community. Currently, Jim supports CWC as a speaker and advocate.