Lisa R. Cohen
Encyclopedia
Lisa R. Cohen is an Emmy award-winning television news magazine producer
with more than 20 years of network news experience at ABC News
and CBS News
. She is also known for writing about the Etan Patz
case.
with a degree in international relations and French.
At "PrimeTime Live" and then at “60 Minutes II
,” Cohen produced reports for Diane Sawyer
, Sam Donaldson
, Peter Jennings
, Cynthia McFadden
and others, on topics as diverse as the right to bear arms, have abortions and exercise the death penalty. She has covered some of the biggest moments in recent history including the TWA 800 crash, the Oklahoma City bombing
, and the September 11 terror attacks. Her 1996 one-hour documentary for ABC News PrimeTime Live, “Judgment at Midnight,” won multiple awards, including the NATAS Emmy; CINE Golden Eagle; International Film and Television Award; and the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television “Gracie” award.
Cohen first learned about Etan's unsolved case while working at "PrimeTime Live." She subsequently produced several pieces on the story for network television before writing After Etan, which is her first book. Her book, After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive, was published by Grand Central Publishing May 7, 2009.
In addition to writing After Etan, Cohen in 2010 began directing and producing "Serving Life" for the Oprah Winfrey Network, executive produced by Forest Whitaker
. The documentary follows a group of inmates at Louisiana's Angola state penitentiary, who staff the inmate hospice there.
Cohen is also a media consultant, and she teaches journalism/television production at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
. She was also a Princeton University
Ferris Professor of Journalism.
She is a regular contributor to Women in Crime Ink
, described by the Wall Street Journal as "a blog worth reading."
She is married and lives in New York City
.
, considered the most famous missing child since the Lindbergh baby. Etan quite literally became the poster child for the new missing children's movement after the streets of New York City were plastered with his missing posters. In the two years after his disappearance, the Atlanta child murders
- during which the bodies of dozens of young boys and girls were discovered in lakes, marshes, and ponds along roadside trails - and the abduction and murder of 6-year-old Adam Walsh
in Hollywood, Florida, galvanized a nationwide movement for child protection and safety. Since 1983, May 25 has been recognized as National Missing Children's Day
in honor of Etan and all the other children who have gone missing in America.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
with more than 20 years of network news experience at ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
and CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
. She is also known for writing about the Etan Patz
Etan Patz
Etan Kalil Patz was a kidnapped American child. He was 6 years old when he disappeared in lower Manhattan, New York on May 25, 1979. At the time, news coverage of Patz's disappearance was made into a media circus in the New York City area. He is arguably the most famous missing child of New York...
case.
Biography and career highlights
She grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Philadelphia, and graduated from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
with a degree in international relations and French.
At "PrimeTime Live" and then at “60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II was a weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.It aired on CBS on Wednesdays, then later moved to Fridays at 8 p.m...
,” Cohen produced reports for Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
, Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson
Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...
, Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
, Cynthia McFadden
Cynthia McFadden
Cynthia McFadden is an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who currently co-anchors Nightline and Primetime.-Education:...
and others, on topics as diverse as the right to bear arms, have abortions and exercise the death penalty. She has covered some of the biggest moments in recent history including the TWA 800 crash, the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, and the September 11 terror attacks. Her 1996 one-hour documentary for ABC News PrimeTime Live, “Judgment at Midnight,” won multiple awards, including the NATAS Emmy; CINE Golden Eagle; International Film and Television Award; and the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television “Gracie” award.
Cohen first learned about Etan's unsolved case while working at "PrimeTime Live." She subsequently produced several pieces on the story for network television before writing After Etan, which is her first book. Her book, After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive, was published by Grand Central Publishing May 7, 2009.
In addition to writing After Etan, Cohen in 2010 began directing and producing "Serving Life" for the Oprah Winfrey Network, executive produced by Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
. The documentary follows a group of inmates at Louisiana's Angola state penitentiary, who staff the inmate hospice there.
Cohen is also a media consultant, and she teaches journalism/television production at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
. She was also a Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Ferris Professor of Journalism.
She is a regular contributor to Women in Crime Ink
Women in Crime Ink
Women in Crime Ink is an American daily crime aggregated blog founded on March 10, 2008 as "a well of thoughts on crime and media issues from women criminal justice professionals and authors." The site offers original content and coverage of crime, media, books, literature, high-profile criminal...
, described by the Wall Street Journal as "a blog worth reading."
She is married and lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
After Etan
After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive tells the story of Etan PatzEtan Patz
Etan Kalil Patz was a kidnapped American child. He was 6 years old when he disappeared in lower Manhattan, New York on May 25, 1979. At the time, news coverage of Patz's disappearance was made into a media circus in the New York City area. He is arguably the most famous missing child of New York...
, considered the most famous missing child since the Lindbergh baby. Etan quite literally became the poster child for the new missing children's movement after the streets of New York City were plastered with his missing posters. In the two years after his disappearance, the Atlanta child murders
Atlanta child murders
The Atlanta Child Murders, known locally as the "missing and murdered children case", were a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from the summer of 1979 until the spring of 1981. Over the two-year period, a minimum of twenty-eight African-American children, adolescents...
- during which the bodies of dozens of young boys and girls were discovered in lakes, marshes, and ponds along roadside trails - and the abduction and murder of 6-year-old Adam Walsh
Adam Walsh
Adam John Walsh was an American boy who was abducted from a Sears department store at the Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Florida, on July 27, 1981, and later found murdered and decapitated. Walsh's death earned national publicity. His story was made into the 1983 television film Adam, seen by 38...
in Hollywood, Florida, galvanized a nationwide movement for child protection and safety. Since 1983, May 25 has been recognized as National Missing Children's Day
National Missing Children's Day
National Missing Children's Day has been commemorated on May 25 since 1983, when it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan.In the several years preceding the establishment of National Missing Children's day a series of high-profile missing-children cases made national headlines.On May 25,...
in honor of Etan and all the other children who have gone missing in America.
Awards
- NATAS Emmy
- CINE Golden Eagle
- International Film and Television Award
- “GracieGracieGracie may refer to:* Gracie , a 2007 American film directed by Davis Guggenheim* Gracie family, a Brazilian sporting family known for their jiu-jitsu style* Gracie , a given name and a family name...
” Award, Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television