CT Broadcasters Assoc. Prez, WMRD Gen. Mgr Named to State Task Force

Two leaders of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association have been named to a new 17-person state task force on public information and privacy. Don DeCesare and Klarn DePalma are two of four media members appointed to the task force by the Connecticut Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, as part of the state’s Newtown public records legislation.

Don DeCesare is president and general manager of WLIS-AM in Old Saybrook and WMRD-AM in Middletown. A journalist for more than four decades, he spent many years at CBS Broadcasting in New York City, where he went from editing radio broadcasts to overseeing television news coverage. 

The Norwalk resident served as chair of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association from 2005 to 2007, during which time the association led the effort to adopt a strong Shield Law for Connecticut. A past Treasurer for CT-N, he is a member of the Media Center Advisory Board at Middlesex Community College.

DeCesare is joined on the new task force by journalists Brian Koonz, Metro Editor for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, and Jodie Mozdzer Gil, President of the Connecticut SPJ Board and Assistant Professor of Multimedia Journalism at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.

The task force includes 13 other members, including a representative from the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information and the Executive Director for the FOI Commission. Connecticut Speaker of the House of Representatives Brendan J. Sharkey and Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. will select two chairpersons for the committee. 

CTSPJ and CCFOI have requested that Sharkey and Williams consider DeCesare as one co-chair, to ensure balance on the committee leadership.

The task force is asked to meet between July 1 and January 1, 2014, at which point a report with recommendations will be sent to the Connecticut General Assembly.

Since its establishment in 1955, the Connecticut Broadcasters Association has been a respected industry leader in legal, governmental, education and community issues on both the State and National levels. Members include broadcast TV stations, radio stations, vendors and companies with a business interest in broadcasting, educational facilities, andindividuals with involvement in the broadcasting industry. For more information about the association, visit www.ctba.orgor call (860) 305-2038.