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    Anthony Fauci’s life, work during COVID are PBS film’s focus

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1102 Views
    Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Dec. 1, 2021. \Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, says he plans to retire by the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January 2025. Fauci, 81, became director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984 and has advised seven presidents. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

    By Lynn Elber, Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Dr. Anthony Fauci and his tumultuous experience during the COVID-19 pandemic are the focus of a PBS "American Masters" documentary.

    The film follows Fauci at home and at work during a 14-month period starting from President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021, PBS announced Wednesday.

    "Tony – A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci" is set to debut on the PBS "American Masters" showcase in spring 2023, following a planned release in movie theaters.

    It will show "a rarely seen side of the scientist, husband, father and public servant," Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO, told a TV critics' meeting.

    Fauci, 81, the government's top infectious disease expert, said recently that he plans to retire by the end of Biden's term in January 2025. He has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and advised seven presidents.

    The pandemic represented an unprecedented challenge for Fauci, his work and his reputation despite his years of widely respected public health service. He's led research in HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, Ebola, Zika and the coronavirus.

    The film follows Fauci "at home, in his office and in the corridors of power as he battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the political onslaught that upends his life and calls into question" his long career as the nation's leading public health advocate, according to the announcement.

    Mark Mannucci, who directed the 2019 "American Masters" documentary on the Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, directed and is a producer for the Fauci film.

    Tags:American MastersPBSTony FauciTony--A Year in the Life of Dr. Anthony Fauci



    What will happen to CNBC and MSNBC when they no longer have a corporate connection to NBC News?

    Thursday, November 21, 2024
    MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

    Comcast's corporate reorganization means that there will soon be two television networks with "NBC" in their name — CNBC and MSNBC — that will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News.

    How that affects viewers of those networks, along with the people who work there, still needs to shake out. Their new corporate leader, Mark Lazarus, visited the set of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as the plan was being announced on Wednesday and spoke to network staff members during a morning conference call to address concerns.

    Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line.

    In the space of a lifetime, the networks went from upstarts aside a legacy operation like NBC to profitable superstars to castoffs.

    Questions range from the simple to complex
    Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, is becoming CEO of the newly-formed company of cable networks, temporarily dubbed "SpinCo." Cesar Conde, who as NBC Universal News Group chairman had oversight of CNBC and MSNBC, will lose those networks from his portfolio, yet remain in charge of NBC News, NBC News Now streaming, Telemundo and the news operations of the NBC-owned local stations.

    The presence of Lazarus and Anand Kini, who will be chief operating officer and chief financial officer of SpinCo, is a good sign for the new company, said Jessica Reif Ehrlich, research analyst for the Bank of America. "You can't dismiss it as getting rid of the crappy assets, because these are talented executives," she said.

    At MSNBC, questions about the future range from the... Read More

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