Waterloo native Bill Bolster, the former KWWL general manager who made CNBC the premier financial news network, will speak at Wartburg College, Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Bolster, who managed KWWL operations (1977-83) before heading other NBC affiliates in St. Louis and New York City, will be interviewed by former KWWL anchor — now state senator and Wartburg regent — Liz Mathis during the third annual President’s Convocation at 11:30 a.m. in McCaskey Lyceum. The public is invited to attend.
Called “the king of TV financial news” by the New York Times, Bolster also will participate in a panel discussion on the state of the media from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in McCaskey Lyceum with these other industry leaders:
- Jim McKernan, general manager, KWWL
- Julie Kraft, senior consultant, Frank N. Magid Associates
- Jill Waage, editorial director, Meredith Corp.
- Randy Brubaker, 1980 Wartburg graduate and senior news director, Des Moines Register
Dr. Penni Pier, Wartburg College professor of communication arts, will moderate the discussion, which also is open to the public. ME&V is the lead sponsor for the event, which is supported by the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.
Bolster, a Loras College graduate, began his career in 1965 as an on-air announcer and salesman at KDTH radio in Dubuque, before becoming vice president and general manager of KWWL.
He moved up the ladder at NBC affiliates as vice president and general manager of KSDK in St. Louis (1983-89), then president of its parent company, Multimedia Broadcasting (1989-91), before leading a turnaround at the network’s flagship station WNBC-TV in New York City, which went from third to first in news ratings.
In 1996, he was named president of the fledgling CNBC financial network, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. Along the way, he became chairman and chief executive officer, expanding CNBC’s international reach into Europe and Asia.
Mathis, an administrator at Four Oaks, a child welfare and juvenile justice organization, is a former professor and chair of the Wartburg communication arts department. She was a broadcast journalist for nearly 30 years, including as an anchor/reporter at KWWL during Bolster’s tenure.
McKernan, a 32-year broadcasting veteran, began his television career as a sales account executive with KWWL in 1983 while Bolster was general manager. Prior to returning to Waterloo, he managed two TV stations in Omaha.
As senior consultant at Frank N. Magid Associates, Kraft has advised news operations from small domestic markets to overseas networks. She was an award-winning Iowa broadcast reporter and news director.
Waage, who has been at Meredith for 22 years, is editorial director of home content for Better Homes and Gardens, bhg.com, and Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Media and books.
In more than 25 years at the Register, Brubaker has been managing editor, digital editor, and sports editor; directed projects that have won regional Emmy awards, a Knight-Batten award for digital innovation, and an OnlineNews Association award for use of digital technology; and supervised the investigative reporting team.
Pier holds the Grant L. Price Department Chair in Communication Arts at Wartburg. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of Missouri.