STAFF

Deborah Potter, President and Executive Director Deborah Potter is a veteran journalism trainer, reporter and writer. She is a contributing correspondent to Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS and a columnist for American Journalism Review. Since 1998, Deborah has been executive director of NewsLab, a non-profit journalism resource in Washington, D.C.

From 2003 to 2004, Deborah also served as executive director of RTNDF, the research and training arm of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. An experienced journalism trainer, she conducts workshops across the country and around the world.

Deborah is a former faculty associate at the Poynter Institute, where for three years she led writing, reporting, management and ethics seminars for professional journalists. She regularly conducts training workshops for the National Press Photographers Association and the International Center for Journalists.

Since 2000, Deborah has been a featured columnist for the American Journalism Review, writing about broadcast news. Her work also has been published by RTNDA Communicator and News Photographer. She is the author of Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World (CQ Press, 2007), RTNDF's Incoming! Advice for the Newly Named News Director (2006) and Ready, Set, Lead: A Resource Guide for News Leaders (2005), as well as the Handbook of Independent Journalism. She is also co-author of the Poynter Election Handbook: New Ways to Cover Campaigns (Third Edition, 1999).

Deborah is frequently quoted in newspapers and interviewed on television and radio about journalism issues. She is a skilled moderator of panel discussions and teleconferences.

Deborah spent 16 years as a network correspondent for CBS and CNN. At CNN, Deborah reported on national politics and environmental issues. She joined CNN in 1991 after 13 years at CBS News, where she served as White House, State Department and Congressional Correspondent. She also was a frequent contributor to the prime time CBS News magazine 48 Hours, and hosted the interview program, Nightwatch.

Before joining CBS News, Deborah worked as a news anchor for KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia; as a reporter for the Voice of America in Washington; and as a news producer for the ABC TV affiliate in Washington. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's degree from The American University.

ADVISORY BOARD 1998-2003

Candy Altman, VP, Hearst-Argyle Broadcast Group, Boston, MA
Drew Berry, VP & General Manager, WMAR-TV, Baltimore, MD
Mel Coffee, former faculty member, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Ramon Escobar, Executive Producer, Telemundo, Secaucus, NJ
Nann Goplerud, Executive Producer, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX
Ken Jobe, News Director, WHBQ-TV, Memphis, TN
Scott Libin, The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, FL
Lane Michaelsen, News Director, WTSP-TV, St. Petersburg, FL
Dan Rosenheim, News Director, KPIX-TV, San Francisco, CA
Al Tompkins, The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, FL