David Othmer

David Othmer has worked in public television and radio for over thirty years, at WNET in New York, at WHYY in Philadelphia, and since 2000 as an independent consultant. Throughout his career he has found ways to making public media more accessible to viewers, listeners, and users by developing and promoting innovative production, broadcasting and fund-raising techniques. Mr. Othmer was Vice President and Station Manager of WHYY-TV12 from 1983 through 2000, and the Station Manager of WHYY-91FM from 1990 to 2000. He supervised the development and production of dozens of television and radio programs, many of which encouraged new and/or low cost approaches; oversaw radio and television scheduling strategies that led to fifty percent plus audience increases; was instrumental in the design of record-breaking on-air fund-raising campaigns; served on many national and regional public broadcasting committees and organizations; and was a major player in WHYY's union negotiating teams, leading that effort in the 1997 negotiation that set the groundwork for WHYY's digital transition. At WHYY-91FM, Mr. Othmer oversaw the change from a mixed programming to a news analysis and information format, and the development of several new programs for that service. He designed public television's first $1 million on-air fund-raising campaign in March, 1976 at WNET, its first $2 million campaign, also at WNET; WHYY TV's first one- and two-million dollar campaigns (1985, 1996) as well as WHYY FM's first half million dollar campaign (1995). As Station Manager, he supervised half of WHYY's staff, and half of its budget ($30 million in 1999) and interacted regularly with WHYY's Board of Directors, many local cultural and public service organizations and foundations. Since leaving WHYY in 2000, he has consulted for the Ford Foundation, Public Radio International, Public Radio Capital and, through Transformations Consulting Group, with KPBS, San Diego, and KNME Albuquerque, among other clients. In 2003-4 he was the interim Vice President for Television System and Station Development at CPB. Most recently he has helped develop strategic plans for four public television stations under CPB's Small Station Strategic Planning Initiative. Born in Boston, David Othmer was brought up mainly in Latin America, where he returned in 1966 as an MIT Fellow in Medellin, Colombia. He is fluent in Spanish, speaks passable Portuguese and French, and has authored several articles, reports and book chapters. Mr. Othmer graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts; received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (cum laude) from Harvard College; and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He and his family own a small vineyard in nearby Chester County, Pennsylvania where they grow grapes, make wine and reconstruct old barns.