Doug McConnell
Encyclopedia
Doug McConnell is a television
journalist
who has focused on environmental
issues, with programs on the air continuously since 1982. He has created, produced and hosted many series, special programs, and news projects for local, national and international distribution. His broadcast awards include multiple Emmys, an Iris, and a Gabriel.
McConnell is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ConvergenceMedia Productions (CMP) in Sausalito, California. One of CMP's principal products is OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, Exploring the West for Public Television nationally. OpenRoad on Public Television is closely linked to www.OpenRoad.TV, The Traveler's Video Guide to the West. McConnell is Co-Executive Producer and Managing Editor for both ventures. McConnell also develops and oversees other media projects undertaken by CMP.
From 1993-2009 McConnell was the Host and Senior Editor of the Bay Area Backroads television series on KRON Television in the San Francisco Bay Area
. Backroads was one of the longest-running regional television series in American broadcast history, and was consistently the highest-rated locally produced, non-news program in the nation's sixth-largest market. During his Backroads years, McConnell co-authored two best-selling travel publications for Chronicle Books.
, from 1985 through 2008. It began as a news magazine-style segment at local station KRON, when Jerry Graham profiled a local eccentric who carved tiki
statues in his front yard. McConnell was hired to complete the 1993 season after Graham's retirement, but remained as host for 15 years. The show's theme was to highlight offbeat individuals from the Bay Area, creating the impression that the production crew was simply encountering them on a recreational driving tour (when in fact, there was a small research team that had planned every show).
McConnell’s national specials and mini-series include:
(1968), and a Bachelor's degree in Government from Pomona College
(1967).
Since 1983, McConnell has lived in the Bay Area with his wife, two sons, and a bevy of pets. He maintains a busy schedule of community activities and has been honored recently by the Marin Humane Society as "Humanitarian of the Year," by the San Francisco Bay Trail Project as "Volunteer of the Year," by California State Parks as "Honorary Ranger of the Year," and by the National Park Service as "Honorary National Park Ranger." McConnell has received many regional Emmys and other broadcast awards during his long career in television. In addition, McConnell has been given the prestigious Harold Gilliam Award for environmental reporting and storytelling in Northern California.
Beyond his television work, Doug has managed significant communications programs for the President's Commission on Coal, the Governor of Alaska, the University of Alaska, The Institute of Ecology, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and many other institutions.
McConnell's most recent venture is the creation of an online travel community called "OpenRoad.TV with Doug McConnell - The Traveler's Video Guide to the American West". OpenRoad.TV will be stocked with all the video, knowledge and insights that McConnell has compiled over the years and continues to collect. The professionally produced video content will be organized into easily accessible geographical and categorical contexts, with users being invited to vastly enrich it by adding their own stories, photographs and videos. The goal of OpenRoad.TV is to provide a website that's extensive, deep, entertaining and informative, and becomes a valuable resource to help people imagine, plan and book travels and get to know intriguing fellow travelers in the process.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who has focused on environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
issues, with programs on the air continuously since 1982. He has created, produced and hosted many series, special programs, and news projects for local, national and international distribution. His broadcast awards include multiple Emmys, an Iris, and a Gabriel.
McConnell is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ConvergenceMedia Productions (CMP) in Sausalito, California. One of CMP's principal products is OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, Exploring the West for Public Television nationally. OpenRoad on Public Television is closely linked to www.OpenRoad.TV, The Traveler's Video Guide to the West. McConnell is Co-Executive Producer and Managing Editor for both ventures. McConnell also develops and oversees other media projects undertaken by CMP.
From 1993-2009 McConnell was the Host and Senior Editor of the Bay Area Backroads television series on KRON Television in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Backroads was one of the longest-running regional television series in American broadcast history, and was consistently the highest-rated locally produced, non-news program in the nation's sixth-largest market. During his Backroads years, McConnell co-authored two best-selling travel publications for Chronicle Books.
OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, Exploring the West
OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, Exploring the West began on San Francisco Public Television station KQED and its sister station in San Jose, KTEH, in April of 2009. It has been accepted by American Public Television for distribution, and is now being picked up by Public Television stations across the country for broadcast beginning this fall.Bay Area Backroads
The Bay Area Backroads program aired for 23 years in the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, from 1985 through 2008. It began as a news magazine-style segment at local station KRON, when Jerry Graham profiled a local eccentric who carved tiki
Tiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
statues in his front yard. McConnell was hired to complete the 1993 season after Graham's retirement, but remained as host for 15 years. The show's theme was to highlight offbeat individuals from the Bay Area, creating the impression that the production crew was simply encountering them on a recreational driving tour (when in fact, there was a small research team that had planned every show).
Other programs
In addition to "Bay Area Backroads, McConnell's TV programs include:- Mac and Mutley, Producer and Host, KPIX-TV, Discovery ChannelDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
USA, Discovery International, and Westinghouse International - The Adventurers, Host, Discovery USA and Discovery International
- Wild Things, Host, Discovery USA
- Wild Guide, Narrator, Westinghouse International and Discovery’s Animal PlanetAnimal PlanetAnimal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
Channel - Petline, Co-Host, Discovery’s Animal Planet Channel
- Preview Vacation Bargains, Co-Host, NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
stations in eight cities - Pacific Currents, Producer and Host, KPIX-TV
- KING 5 Magazine, Producer and Reporter, KING-TV in Seattle
McConnell’s national specials and mini-series include:
- Discoveries of a Lost Voyage, Co-Host, Discovery USA
- Secrets of Alcatraz, Producer and Host, Discovery USA
- Secrets of Alcatraz: Return to the Rock, Producer and Host, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- Secrets of the Gold RushGold rushA gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
, Producer and Host, PBS - Secrets of the Wine Country, Producer and Host, PBS
- Big Cat Tales, Host, Discovery USA
- Prime Time Primates, Host, Discovery USA
- The Crusaders, Pilot, Producer and Reporter, Buena VistaBuena Vista (Walt Disney Company)Buena Vista is a brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. It was originally created by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of Peter Pan to distribute his film and television...
Television
Personal life
McConnell received a Master's degree in Political Science from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
(1968), and a Bachelor's degree in Government from Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
(1967).
Since 1983, McConnell has lived in the Bay Area with his wife, two sons, and a bevy of pets. He maintains a busy schedule of community activities and has been honored recently by the Marin Humane Society as "Humanitarian of the Year," by the San Francisco Bay Trail Project as "Volunteer of the Year," by California State Parks as "Honorary Ranger of the Year," and by the National Park Service as "Honorary National Park Ranger." McConnell has received many regional Emmys and other broadcast awards during his long career in television. In addition, McConnell has been given the prestigious Harold Gilliam Award for environmental reporting and storytelling in Northern California.
Beyond his television work, Doug has managed significant communications programs for the President's Commission on Coal, the Governor of Alaska, the University of Alaska, The Institute of Ecology, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and many other institutions.
McConnell's most recent venture is the creation of an online travel community called "OpenRoad.TV with Doug McConnell - The Traveler's Video Guide to the American West". OpenRoad.TV will be stocked with all the video, knowledge and insights that McConnell has compiled over the years and continues to collect. The professionally produced video content will be organized into easily accessible geographical and categorical contexts, with users being invited to vastly enrich it by adding their own stories, photographs and videos. The goal of OpenRoad.TV is to provide a website that's extensive, deep, entertaining and informative, and becomes a valuable resource to help people imagine, plan and book travels and get to know intriguing fellow travelers in the process.