LOS ANGELES BASED REALITY AND DOCUMENTARY CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES NEW LINE-UP OF FEATURED SPEAKERS

Top Production and Development Executives Host Informative Sessions

At Inaugural WESTDOC Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LOS ANGELES – July 31 2009 – TLC Executive VP of Programming Steve Cheskin, Discovery Senior VP of Programming Gena McCarthy, John Saade, ABC Senior VP of Alt Programming John Saade, and National Geographic Network Executive VP of Programming Steve Burns, are just a few of the production and development executives to join the line-up of industry leaders confirmed to share their knowledge and experience at the upcoming The West Coast Documentary and Reality Conference (WESTDOC). The three-day event will take place September 14th-16th in Santa Monica, California.

“We welcome these visionary leaders to our conference and applaud their willingness to share their wisdom and expertise with the rest of the industry,” said co-producers Chuck Braverman and Richard Propper. “With WESTDOC, we’re creating an arena that puts the real decision makers in our industry together with creators and producers who are eager to discover and meet the challenges of delivering their programs to audiences in a multi-platform environment.”

The new speakers join Thom Beers, founder and CEO of Original Productions, a prolific supplier of non-fiction television series and home of the cable hits “Deadliest Catch,” “Ice Road Truckers” and “Ax Men,” who is a featured keynote guest.

Produced by Oscar-nominated producer/director Chuck Braverman and non-fiction broadcast distributor Richard Propper, a former president of IDA (International Documentary Association), the conference seeks to facilitate introductions and dialogue, and promote the development and production of documentary and reality programming.

Designed to bring together local as well as global talent in the genre, WESTDOC featured sessions include: “Getting the Network’s Attention – Especially from the Left Coast,” “The Death of DVD – Long Live Digital Delivery,” “From Indie to Oscar Nominee – A Look at Feature Docs That Scored,” and “Programmers’ Panel – What do HBO, FOX, Discovery, TLC, Really Want?.” New sessions include: “How to Budget a Reality Show,” with renowned reality guru Donna Michelle Anderson; and “Selling Docs to Ad Agencies,” hosted by Radical Media’s Frank Stieifel.

For more information about WESTDOC: The West Coast Documentary and Reality Conference, please visit www.theWESTDOC.com Early bird rates are still available as are various guild and union discounts.

The WESTDOC Conference will offer attendees one-on-one interaction with network buyers, distribution companies and fellow industry leaders by providing a broad cross-section of timely seminars and panel discussions. WESTDOC is the only conference worldwide geared towards both the documentary and reality genres. The lineup of programs and events will provide invaluable insight and expertise to both the business and creative arenas of the industry. During the first two days of the conference, attendees may select panels from either The Documentary Village or The Reality Village, where a wide range of topics will be discussed by industry leaders and innovators in a unique and hands-on environment. The third day, PitchFest, will showcase producers from both Villages pitching new programs to network and development executives in front of a live audience for potential acquisition or co-production funding.

Sponsors: Hiscox Cooperating Partners: IDA, hotDOCS, Cynopsis. c21Media.net, World Screen News, AFI /Discovery Channel Silverdocs, NALIP, Show Starter, and MTG Media

Detailed information about the seminars, panels, keynote speakers, panelists and early-bird and guild discount rates and more are available at www.TheWestdoc.com.

List of WESTDOC SPEAKERS TO DATE:

# Thom Beers, Founder and CEO of Original Productions
* (Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men)
# R.J. Cutler, Filmmaker & President, Actual Reality Pictures
* (The War Room, A Perfect Candidate, American High)
# Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films
# Susan Lacey, Executive Producer, American Masters, PBS
# David Goldberg, Chairman, Endemol North America
* Deal or No Deal, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wipeout)
# Steve Cheskin – Executive VP of Programming, TLC
# Gena McCarthy – Senior VP of Programming, Discovery
# John Saade – Senior VP of Alt. Programming, ABC
# Charles Foley – VP of Programming, Animal Planet,
# Steve Burns – Executive VP of Programming, National Geographic Network
# Beth Greenwald – VP of Programming, E! Entertainment
# Charles Norlander – VP of Programming, History Channel
# Cynthia Kane – Program Manager, ITVS
# Tony Disanto – Executive VP of Programming, MTV
# Sharon Levy – Senior VP of Programming, Spike TV
# Robyn Hutt – Senior VP Current Programming, Tru TV
# And, many others.

MEDIA CONTACTS: John Russel . RUSSEL Public Relations . 661.259.2601

Sabrina Gorham . RPiPR . 818.515.5798